


Rascals II

by roeskva



Series: The Rascals Series [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Kid Fic, Tok'ra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 06:57:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 37,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1028652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roeskva/pseuds/roeskva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Rascals. The continued adventures of Sam, Martouf, Lantash, Freya, Anise, and Daniel, after they have been turned into children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS: Up to early season 8 or there about.  
> NOTES: As canon, except all the Tok'ra - and Janet - are just fine! I got inspired by the Star Trek: TNG episode 'Rascals' to write the first installment, and I just found I had more ideas for the story! Some OOC'ness and a little cracky at times. Meant as Christmas calendar, so there will be 24 chapters.
> 
> Repost from Fanfiction.net

"It's snowing!" Sam declared, excitedly, as she looked out of the window.

"Wheeeeeeee! Snowing!" Martouf exclaimed, jumping up on the couch beside Sam, looking out as well.

"Yay! _Jack_! You promised we could have sleighs if it snowed!" Daniel yelled, wanting to make sure he was heard.

"Snow, snow, snow!" Anise chanted happily as she jumped up and down.

The children were spending two weeks at O'Neill's place after Christmas. They were still staying at the base otherwise, but there was talk about maybe letting them live with O'Neill or Janet, eventually.

The base was not really the right place for children to stay for many years, and since they were only six years old - or the equivalent for the symbiotes - it would be quite many years.

The alien device that had originally turned them into children had short-circuited. As well, Thor had examined them and answered that while it was probably possible for the Asgard to grow the children's _bodies_ back to adult size, their _personalities_ would be another matter. The alien machine had transferred memories, knowledge, feelings... _everything_ , quite faithfully as they were turned into children. However, the _personalities_ were now that of children, and so they would remain, even if the bodies were grown to adult size by the Asgard. The only thing that would transform the personalities to those of adults, were time. They needed to mature naturally, and it was better if the bodies matched their personalities meanwhile.

Currently, the children were on vacation, staying with Colonel O'Neill.

"Not so loud, _dammit_!" O'Neill complained, sleepily, as he appeared bleary-eyed from his bedroom. "My head hurts!"

"You shouldn't have drunk all that whi-sky with Dad and George yesterday." Sam pointed out. "Janet and Teal'c said so!"

"It was New Year's Eve!" O'Neill defended himself. "It's _normal_ to have a few."

"Teal'c only had soft drinks - as did we." Daniel told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Wise guy." O'Neill yawned. "What time is it? It's barely light outside."

Martouf ran to check the clock in the kitchen. "Almost seven-fifteen!" He yelled.

"I told you guys to be _quiet_!" O'Neill groaned. "Seven-fifteen! Are you _crazy_? I've only slept for four hours! I'm going back to bed!"

"But it's _snowing_!" Anise said.

"I'm hungry!" Daniel whined.

"So am I!" Martouf told him. "And Lantash is too!"

"Well, there's toast in the kitchen, you know how to make that. I think there's peanut butter and other stuff in the fridge." O'Neill turned and started towards his bedroom again.

"I want pancakes!" Sam declared. "With strawberry jam!"

"So do I! With maple syrup! Please?" Martouf begged.

"Gah!" O'Neill hid his face in his hand. What had he done to deserve this? "Listen, if you let me sleep for...ah, four more hours? Then I promise to take you somewhere we can buy toboggans, _and_ I'll make you pancakes for dinner. Deal?"

"But what if the snow has melted before then?" Anise asked, worried.

"I want pancakes now!" Sam stomped her foot.

"Behave yourself, young lady!" O'Neill sent Sam a warning look. "Listen, the snow will be there, trust me." He said tiredly. "Chocolate bars - and toasts - now, pancakes and toboggans later - _and_ ice cream."

Sam nodded happily. "Okay."

"Deal." Daniel said, looking pleased.

Martouf and Anise nodded as well, and O'Neill went to his secret locked cupboard and took out four chocolate bars, not caring if what he did set a bad precedence. That could be handled later. With Janet, he feared, but he was too tired to worry about that now.

"Here." He threw them the candy. "Now, be nice and play _quietly_. Okay?"

"Lantash wants candy too!" Martouf complained. "Why did we only get one piece?"

"Share it!" O'Neill pulled the door shut behind him and threw himself on the bed, then pulled the blanket up over his head, trying to sleep.

-  
Sam stood balancing on a chair, popping bread into the toaster. "How many pieces of toast do you want?"

"Two." Anise told her. "Freya wants one extra."

"Two - and a half." Daniel added after thinking about it.

"I don't want toast. I want pancakes." Martouf grumbled. "Lantash says he wants two pieces."

"Okay..." Sam thought about it. "So...two plus one plus two-and-a-half...plus two...plus two for me...that's...nine-and-a-half." She started plucking more bread out of the bag. She was about to tear one of the pieces in two when Martouf stopped her.

"If I can't have pancakes now, I want the extra half piece."

"But what if I don't want it roasted the same amount as you do?" Daniel complained. "Sam, you should still cut it before roasting it."

She tore the bread, making it crumble into pieces. "Oops."

"I told you to cut it." Daniel admonished. "Not tear it."

Sam stuck her tongue out. "Wise guy!"

"Hey! Only Jack can call me that!"

He pushed her, and she swayed precariously for a moment before grabbing hold of the cable to the toaster. It was ripped from the wall and Sam tumbled backwards. Martouf, Daniel, and Anise all tried to catch her, but the chair tipped and Sam fell to the floor, knocking down the others as well. There was a loud crash, followed by a smaller crash as the toaster fell as well. They all started crying.

O'Neill came running into the kitchen, looking suddenly scared. "What _happened_?" He stared at the scenario. "Is anyone hurt?" He picked up the toaster and put it away before anyone got burned, then checked out the children.

"Daniel pushed me!" Sam cried.

"No, I didn't!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"He did!" Freya and Martouf said in unison.

"Okay, _listen_ it doesn't matter who did what!" He did his best to embrace all of the crying children. "Are you all right?"

"My finger hurts!" Freya complained, holding out the little finger of her right hand. "Anise says she is healing it."

O'Neill took a look at it. There was a small scrape on it, which he deemed not even needing of a band-aid. He blew on it. "So, better?"

Freya nodded. "A little."

Having checked that none of the others were hurt, he moved the chair away and started toasting the bread for them. "I guess I should have done this in the first place." He sighed. Sleep would have to wait until the children had eaten breakfast - he was just happy none of them were seriously hurt, and he was feeling more than a little ashamed at not having been more attentive.

-  
"Shh, quiet." Sam whispered as they opened the outer door. "The Colonel needs to sleep."

They all went outside, stopping at the doorstep to look at the snow for a moment before leaving the house. They all wore warm clothing, having remembered they would need it.

"Snow! Lots and lots and lots of snow!" Anise squealed.

"Remember, Jack says to use Freya's voice or let her talk when we're outside." Daniel reminded her.

"Yes, I remember!" Anise rolled her eyes. "Usually." She grinned. Suddenly she was hit by a snowball in the back of her head, almost knocking off her knitted hat. "Augh! WHO DID THAT!" She turned around to see a widely grinning Martouf. "I WILL GET YOU FOR THAT!" She ran after him.

"Snowball fight!" Sam cried at the top of her voice, as she started throwing snowballs at Martouf and Anise who were now fighting in the snow.

Martouf had wrestled Anise to the ground, and were about to dump a large armful of snow on her, when Sam dropped a huge bunch of snow on him. She giggled as she ran.

"Samantha!" Martouf exclaimed. "Just wait until I catch you!" He gave control to Lantash, in order to gain a little extra speed, and they spurted off after Sam.

Meanwhile, Anise was trying to get up, spluttering from the snow that had fallen as much on her, as on Martouf. She was almost standing when Daniel snuck up from behind her and threw a soft snowball at short distance - which meant it exploded in a cascade of snow over her.  
He turned to run, but was not quite fast enough, and Anise grabbed hold of him and pulled him down with her, shoveling snow over him as fast as she could.

Lantash made a jump and caught Sam, both of them tumbling to the ground. They rolled around for a few moments, before Lantash came up on top, holding Sam down as best he could with his legs and one hand, while he used the other to dump snow on her, laughing triumphantly.

-  
"Okay, peace?" Sam suggested, holding out a snow-covered glove.

"Peace." The others all agreed, all of them looking just as much like snowmen as she did.

"We should build a snowman." Daniel suggested, looking down himself.

"I'm tired." Lantash said, yawning. "And hungry."

"Why not a snow _woman_." Freya insisted.

"We need a carrot, a scarf, a broom, a hat, and some small rocks." Sam listed.

"Can I have a carrot too?" Lantash sounded interested.

"It's for decorating the snowman, silly!" Sam smiled.

"How can you decorate something with those things?" Freya wondered.

"Carrot for nose, rocks for eyes and mouth...and so on...but if you wanna make a snowwoman we need a skirt or something." Daniel explained.

"Why? Why can't a woman wear the same things as a man?" Sam said.

"How do we know she's a snowwoman then?" Daniel pointed out.

"We give her large breasts." Lantash said.

The others shrugged. "Okay."

They set to building.


	2. Chapter 2

" _She_ looks great now!" Anise smiled as she looked at the snow _woman_. "I think the teeth are good now too!"

"Yeah, too bad we couldn't find enough rocks with the snow and all, but the icicles totally works!" Daniel agreed.

They all admired their work for a few moments before they went inside. By now they all were tired, hungry, and also getting cold.

"Who wants hot chocolate?" Sam suggested, as she dropped her wet clothing on top of her wet boots.

"I do." Martouf said eagerly. "And waffles."

"Yeah, waffles is a great idea. I mean, Jack's making pancakes for us tonight, so we should make waffles now." Daniel agreed.

"We could make some for Jack too." Freya suggested. "He did not have any breakfast, so I am sure he will be hungry." She looked at the clock. "It is almost 1 PM, he only wished to sleep until noon, did he not?"

"Nah, let him sleep. We'll make him waffles and hot chocolate!" Martouf said.

"Okay, anyone know how to make waffles?" Sam asked.

"Nope. I think there's egg and milk in them." Daniel looked thoughtful. "Maybe Jack has a cookbook. Or we can find a recipe online."

"Online sounds easier." Sam yawned mightily. "I'm _tired_."

"I'll go find a recipe." Martouf promised, then went to turn on O'Neill's seldom used home desktop.

The others began taking out the things they knew they needed - pots, bowls, eggs, milk, sugar, as well as the waffle iron. They did their best to be as quiet as possible, but O'Neill was obviously sleeping quite heavily, and did not wake up even when they made some noises.

Martouf came into the kitchen, carrying a piece of paper. "I couldn't spell waffles, so I searched for pancakes, which I _can_ spell, but I'm not sure the recipe is the same? What do you think?"

Sam shrugged. "They look the same except the text-ure, so I say we use it."

"Waffles are thicker, so we should mul-tiply by..." Daniel thought about it. "Four? Don't you think, Sam?"

She nodded. "Sounds right."

"This should give 10-12 pancakes - we need _at least_ four each, so that's..." Martouf considered it for a moment. "Twenty-eight, because we are six, and then there's O'Neill."

"I think he can eat more than we can." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't think Martouf and Lantash _or_ Freya and Anise can eat four each! No matter how hungry they are!" Daniel insisted.

Martouf looked thoughtful again. "Okay, then twenty-eight for all of us?"

The others nodded.

"Good, then just mul-tiply by four and we get waffles." Daniel said, happily.

Martouf scribbled on the paper for a little while. "I think I got it. 24 cups of flour, 12 tea-spoons of baking powder, 24 table-spoons of sugar, 24 eggs - beaten, 12 tea-spoons of salt, 18 cups of milk, and 30 table-spoons of melted butter."

"Okay." Sam started pouring flour into a measuring cup.

"Wait!" Daniel stopped her. "I remember...we need to beat the eggs and the sugar and the milk together first...I think."

Sam shrugged, then nodded. "Get me that, then."

Anise looked in the refrigerator. "There is not enough eggs or milk. I think there is enough of the rest...or, perhaps we need a little more butter."

"We also need more flour." Sam said, looking into the half-empty bag.

"That's not good. We need milk for the hot chocolate too." Martouf frowned.

"There's a small store at the corner of the next street!" Daniel suddenly remembered. "I've been there, once."

"We're not supposed to go out on the street." Anise reminded him.

"Well, we need it to cook breakfast for Jack." Daniel reasoned. "He won't mind."

"How much do you think it costs? I've only got 3 dollars and four cent." Sam said.

"More." Daniel looked unhappy. "Everyone, find all the money you have!"

-  
"Okay, so we have got 19 dollars and 23 cents." Daniel said. "That should be more than enough. Who goes with me?"

"Together with the milk we need for the hot chocolate, we need at least 3 gallon...and we need more eggs and butter and flour...we better all go." Lantash suggested.

"Agreed, let's go!" Sam went to the door and began looking for her clothing. "Yuck, it's all wet!"

"It will dry while we wear it." Freya suggested.

"Okay." Sam shrugged.

They put on their wet clothing and silently snuck outside again.

"Which way?" Freya asked.

Daniel thought it over. "Hmm, _that_ way." He pointed.

-  
"I don't remember it being this far..." Daniel frowned, looking worried.

They stopped, looking around and feeling lost.

"Hi, kids. Should you be out here all alone?" Said a man about the same age as O'Neill. He had a dog with him on a leash.

"We're...making breakfast for Uncle Jack. We wanted to surprise him." Daniel explained.

"But we don't have enough milk." Martouf said, looking at the dog. "Can I pet it?"

"And other stuff..." Sam added.

Freya hid behind Sam, looking shy.

"Oh, so you're looking for the small store around the corner?" The man wondered, smiling at them. "It's not far away. I can take you there. You really shouldn't be out here alone. The traffic isn't bad, but still." He looked at Martouf. "Yes, you can pet him. His name is Voodoo, and he's really nice."

"Great, thanks!" Daniel smiled at him.

"Nice doggie." Martouf said, petting the dog.

Sam carefully touched the dogs head. It happily licked both her and Martouf in the face, making Freya giggle just from looking at it. She petted the dog on the back, very gently.

The store really was not far away, less than 200 feet, actually, but it had been hidden by a hedge.

"Uncle Jack..." The man looked thoughtful. "Would that be Jack O'Neill?"

"Yes." Martouf said. "You know him?"

"I do, I live only a couple houses away from him, and I served with him in the Air Force. My name is Fred Jefferson, by the way."

"I'm Martouf...Lantash. That's Samantha, Daniel, and Freya Anise."

"Nice to meet you." Fred smiled.

"I'm in the Air Force too." Sam told him, self-importantly. "I'm a Major. What are you?"

Fred grinned. "Lieutenant Colonel, like your Uncle. An honour meeting you, Major!"

They had reached the store and went inside. With the help of Fred, they quickly found what they were looking for, and paid. It turned out they had just enough money for all their purchases.

Outside the store, the children went to pet the dog again. It was clearly ecstatic to see them, and jumped up and down, licking them all.

"I better help you carry this back." Fred said. "It's heavy for little ones like you."

"But I am _strong_!" Martouf protested.

Fred smiled. "I'm sure you are, kid. Perhaps you can hold Voodoo's leash, then?"

"Ooh, yes! Yes, I can do that!"

"Can I hold it some of the time?" Sam begged.

" _Some_ of the time." Martouf answered, magnanimously.


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost 3 PM when they were finally back home and were again working on the waffles.

They had found the biggest bowl in O'Neill's cupboards and had finished mixing all the ingredients - Sam and Daniel holding on to the bowl, and Martouf and Anise stirring the spoon.

"I think it's too thick." Daniel said, giving the dough an expert look. "I think it's because we bought those pre-mixed eggs in a jug."

"How would _that_ change anything?" Sam scoffed.

"Okay, we'll just add some water." Martouf poured a glass in. "Enough?"

"Maybe, stir it some more." Daniel told them.

"Now?" Sam wondered.

"I think it needs something...uh...something that's in between water and eggs, to _make up for the missing liquid_!" He stuck his tongue out at Sam.

"It was just eggs without shell! Put in a jar!" She complained. "That's _not_ why it's too thick. You probably read the recipe wrong!"

"I have an idea." Martouf said. He went purposely to the refrigerator and took out one of the beers in there. "I am certain this will be good."

"Okay, try it, then."

They poured the beer in and stirred the now thinner dough. Daniel nodded, satisfied. "Yes, it's good, now."

"The waffle iron is hot." Sam announced.

"Good. Get the dough on the table." Daniel ordered.

"Pour it on the table?" Freya frowned.

"No, fool. Put the _bowl_ on the table!" Daniel rolled his eyes.

Freya grumbled something, but helped getting the heavy bowl up on the table. Daniel then crawled up on the chair they had pushed over to the table, and took a large ladle and started pouring dough on the waffle iron. It overflowed, and he quickly closed it, making more dough run over.

"Watch out!" Martouf warned.

Daniel shrugged. "We'll clean up later."

"I'll start making the hot chocolate." Sam announced. "Please help me, Martouf and Freya?"

-  
It was almost 30 minutes later when O'Neill slowly woke up. What _was_ that slightly burned smell? He quickly became completely awake and jumped out of the bed, then ran to the kitchen. " _Kids_!"

"Hi, Jack." Daniel smiled widely.

"Good morning, O'Neill." Martouf nodded solemnly.

"Sir." Sam said.

"Hello, Jack!" Freya grinned.

For a few moments O'Neill just stared at it all. The floor was covered with a thin layer of flour, small foot prints criss-crossing it. Opened, tipped over containers and jugs were lying on the table and on the floor. A huge pot with _something_ was standing on the stove, Freya/Anise stirring whatever was in it.

Martouf/Lantash were eating a waffle, syrup dripping from it, while Sam was slowly scooping flour from the floor back into a flour bag. Daniel ladled dough into the waffle iron and closed it. The iron overflowed, as it had obviously done a great many times before, if the small lake on the floor was anything to go by.

Tiredly, O'Neill shook his head. "I don't even want to know what you're doing - and why are you all naked?"

"We're making breakfast!" Martouf said happily. "For you, too!" He tried to dry his sticky fingers on his stomach, then used his hair instead.

"Yes, and hot chocolate!" Freya said, smiling.

"Our clothes got wet. Outside, I mean." Daniel informed him.

"Why didn't you just put on some dry clothes? You have plenty, I _know_ you do."

"We figured it would just get messy. We're easier to clean." Sam giggled and touched her hair. A cloud of flour rose from it.

O'Neill closed his eyes and felt extremely sorry for himself. Why had he not accepted Janet's offer to take them today?

"Wait... _outside_?" He suddenly asked.

"Yep, we played in the snow...and we made a snowman!" Daniel said excitedly, forgetting about the waffles and jumping down to run to O'Neill. "Come, see!"

"Snow _woman_!" Freya reminded him.

"All of you...bath! _Now_!" O'Neill ordered as he quickly caught Daniel before he could open the outer door. "Bath, young man - and then clothes. _Now_!" He looked at the pile of wet, dripping clothing beside the door, and regretted getting out of bed at all. He began picking up the clothes when he smelled something burning. The waffles!

-  
O'Neill had barely taken care of the wet clothes, when the doorbell rang. He threw a tired look at the kitchen, still looking like a warzone, then went to check who was at the door.

"Hi, Jack!" Janet smiled at him.

"Ah, Janet, come in." He still felt it was a little strange for them to be on first name basis, but Janet had helped out with the children a lot, and somehow 'Doctor Fraiser' had become too formal.

"O'Neill." Teal'c said, stepping through the door after Janet.

"Teal'c!" O'Neill smiled at both of his guests. "Not that you guys aren't welcome, but what made you decide to pay me a visit? You only left last evening!"

"Do you not remember your promise? You would purchase sleighs for the children, in case it snowed while they stayed with you." Teal'c reminded him.

"Yeah...yeah, I do..." O'Neill looked tired as he remembered.

"I think Teal'c's looking forward to playing in the snow!" Janet whispered in O'Neill's ear, grinning. She suddenly wrinkled her nose. "What's that smell? Is something burning in the kitchen?"

"Ah...well, the kids decided they wanted to make waffles...and they had a few accidents..." He said, a little evasively.

Janet, followed by Teal'c, had already reached the door to the kitchen and now stood looking at the mess.

"Impressive." Teal'c remarked. "One would not think someone so small, would be able to create so much chaos."

O'Neill just sighed and sat down on the nearest chair.

"Janet!" Sam squealed as she came running, throwing herself at the doctor.

Martouf and Daniel followed just behind her, breaking into a spurt as they saw Janet and Teal'c.

"Teal'c! Janet!"

"Hi, kids. Where's Freya and Anise?" Janet asked, smiling as she greeted them.

"Here!" Anise yelled, as she exited the bathroom, pulling a shirt over her head as she ran.

"Hello, children." Teal'c smiled at them all.

"We thought we'd go with you to the store and pick up toboggans for you." Janet threw O'Neill a mirthful look. "I think Uncle Jack here could use some rest..."

Martouf got a guilty look. "Yes...we wanted to make waffles for him."

"I'm still hungry." Sam said. "But I also wanna go get a to-bog-gan!"

"Oh...and Jack, can we have a dog?" Daniel asked, suddenly remembering 'Voodoo'.

"Well, it looks as if you've already made more than enough waffles for us all - why don't we eat some of them, then you clean up the kitchen...and _then_ we can go to the store?" Janet suggested.

"Do we _have_ to clean up all that first?" Daniel moped. "I'm _tired_!"

Janet kneeled down beside him. "Yes...that's part of cooking. You have to clean up after yourself afterwards. Okay?"

-  
After eating the - surprisingly edible - waffles - O'Neill had taken a nap while Janet and Teal'c helped the children clean up in the kitchen.

"We're ready to go to the store! Are you _sure_ you don't wanna come?" Sam asked.

"It's gonna be _awesome_!" Daniel added, excitedly. "We're gonna get the fastest, coolest toboggan you've _ever_ seen!"

"And then we'll all go to the sledding hill at the park, right?" Martouf asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure, sweetie." Janet looked out the window. "It's 6 PM and it's dark outside now. I think it'll be better if we waited until tomorrow. Aren't you tired?"

"But I want go sledding _now_!" Martouf insisted, looking unhappy.

"The sleigh will run whether it's light or dark, won't it?" Sam said. "Why does it matter if it's night or day?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun to ride downhill _fast_ in the dark!" Daniel looked happy.

"It sounds _dangerous_..." Anise frowned.

"It _is_ dangerous." Janet said. "We're waiting until tomorrow."

As if on cue, Sam, Martouf, and Daniel started crying. "You promised." They all sniffled.

"Good luck with that." O'Neill told Janet. "I'll be making pancakes for you guys for when you come back from the store - and hot chocolate that's...ah, a bit less well-done..."


	4. Chapter 4

It had turned out well enough the day before. Janet and Teal'c had taken the children to the store, and bought sleds for each of the children - as well as one for Teal'c, who insisted on trying out this interesting type of Tau'ri recreation. Janet had grinned and firmly insisted on not wanting one herself - she could always borrow Teal'c's as she said.

Today, O'Neill looked out the window with some trepidation, worried it would turn out to have thawed and that the snow would be gone. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw there was not only still snow, but that a little more had fallen during the night. He checked the temperature and smiled, pleased. It would be great weather for sledding today!

Daniel - and then the other children - had carried on about wanting a dog. O'Neill had talked to Fred by now, and knew what it was all about.

Actually, Fred had gently suggested O'Neill was not taking properly care of the children, so he had been a little pissed at them. However, he had to admit it had maybe not been so good that they walked off on their own to go shopping. The traffic was not bad where he lived, but still - he had talked to them about it, and they had promised not to do it again.

Somehow, he had also ended up promising them they could have a pet, but _not right now_. Later, _maybe_. He sighed.

His stomach rumbled, and he decided it was time to prepare breakfast. The children were still sleeping - unusual for them, but they had been tired after their antics in the kitchen and in the snow the day before. He was certain they would wake up when they smelled food.

-  
"Wauw! It's really going to be a long ride!" Martouf said enthusiastically, looking at the declining slope of the hill, and the small group of children already playing on it.

"It's...somewhat steep, isn't it?" Daniel sounded concerned.

"I would estimate 30 degrees inclination - and maybe 500 feet long." Teal'c informed them.

"It's gonna be epic!" Sam exclaimed.

Janet frowned and looked worriedly at the hill. "Don't you think it's a bit too dangerous? They're only 6 years old."

"Nah, I was sledding on _way_ more dangerous hills when I was six." O'Neill said. "They'll be fine. The ground is smooth and there's no bushes, trees - or roads - nearby. Totally safe. See?" He made a sweeping gesture with his arm.

They all made their way to the top, and Sam threw herself on her sled immediately, kicking off downhill. It started slowly, but soon picked up speed, and Sam made a happy - and slightly fearful - squeal.

Martouf considered it for a moment, debating with Lantash over whether or not to do this. It looked dangerous from up here - but it also sounded as if Samantha was - mostly - enjoying herself. Besides, neither he nor Lantash wanted to admit they did not dare do something _she_ did. Making a decision, Martouf jumped on his sled and started down the hill, closing his eyes as he went faster.

Daniel looked after his friends. Sam had now reached the bottom of the hill, plowing up a _lot_ of snow as she landed. He saw her get up, completely covered in snow, and starting to run back up the hill. He carefully placed his sled at the top of the inclination and sat down on it.

"Are you going to do it or not?" Anise asked, putting her sled on the ground beside him and sitting on it as well.

"You're supposed to let Freya have control when we're around others!" Daniel told her.

She stuck out her tongue at him, but gave control to Freya.

"So, shall we see who gets down first?" Freya grinned at him, as she kicked off against the snow and zipped off.

"You're cheating!" Daniel protested, then lay down on his sled, face-first, and kicked off.

"Wait, Daniel! Not like that..." O'Neill called after him, but he was already on the way down.

Sam had just made her way to the top again, and she looked after him. "Looks great! It's going _much_ faster like that!" She quickly lay down on her sled and were off downhill before anyone could stop her.

"Why isn't anyone listening to me?" O'Neill complained. "What if they crash and hit their heads?"

"They will be fine, O'Neill. Jaffa children of their age would have already been fighting with bashaak staffs - and have hunted and killed their first small pitak deers."

"That's _crazy_ \- and these are not Jaffa children!" O'Neill watched with concern as Daniel plowed into a fluffy snowdrift. Relieved, he saw him get up again, just as Freya reached the bottom of the hill. They started running uphill, clearly racing each other.

"Nor are all of them human, though they do behave as such."

"Aren't you going to try, Teal'c?" Martouf wondered, having just made it to the top again. "It's _fun_!"

Teal'c put his sleigh down. "I believe I shall." He began sliding downwards, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker.

Weighing much more than the children, he soon reached a higher speed, and suddenly the wind caught his hat and pulled it off him. His sleigh - and he - continued on and raced quickly down towards the bottom of the hill - where several people were currently standing.

"Ah, _crap_!" O'Neill exclaimed. "The hat blew off and _of course_ there's a bunch of people down there now, who'll see his tattoo!"

"I'll get the hat!" Martouf yelled helpfully and threw himself on his sleigh, riding quickly downhill, following approximately the same track Teal'c had.

"Me too!" Freya insisted. She had just gotten to the top, but hopped on her sled immediately anyway, also going downhill fast.

"Where do they get the energy from?" O'Neill wondered, feeling tired just watching them.

Meanwhile, Teal'c had gotten to the bottom of the hill, and the sleigh stopped a few feet from a group of children and their parents. They looked towards Teal'c as he stopped a short distance from them, one of the children immediately discovering the golden tattoo on his forehead.

The child turned to his father, announcing in a loud, clear voice. "Why does the man have a metal plate on his forehead? Do you think he is a super hero?" He pointed.

The father looked embarrassed. "It's rude to point at people, Jim." He stared at Teal'c's forehead, unable not to.

Teal'c just raised an eyebrow at the child and the father, then turned away, ignoring them.

Martouf rapidly approached Teal'c's hat, but he had miscalculated slightly, and saw he would miss it. He tried using his feet to steer and brake - and managed to make the sled topple over, and he fell off. He slid several feet before stopping, but landed, surprisingly, close to the hat. Triumphantly, he grabbed the hat and was looking for his sled when Freya came full speed towards him.

Too late he tried jumping aside, and she attempted to swerve, but the result was that she hit him, making him fall again. He cried out, as much in surprise as in pain, as they continued downhill _fast_ , sitting on the same sled and finally tumbling to a stop in a tangle at the bottom.

Martouf sputtered as he got up, completely covered by snow. "Why did you hit me?"

"It was not my fault! _You_ were the one standing in the way!" Freya answered angrily. She grabbed the hat, pulling at it. "Give it to me. Teal'c needs it!"

"I got it first!" Martouf pulled back at the hat.

"Perhaps I should take that." Teal'c told them, grabbing the hat. "Thank you, both of you." He pulled lightly and they let go. He stared at the very wet, snow-covered hat, that had been pulled completely out of shape. He shook it, then put it on anyway.

"Sorry." Martouf said.

"Yes, sorry. We didn't mean to make it wet." Freya added.

"Are you okay?" O'Neill ran towards them, slightly out of breath from hurrying down the hill through the snow.

"Wheeeee!" Daniel squealed as he flew past on his sled, landing in the same snow drift he had ended up in earlier.

Tiredly, O'Neill looked up, just in time to see Sam speeding towards him...


	5. Chapter 5

It was several days later, and all the children were now back again on the base, after their little vacation at O'Neill's place.

"I don't need to go to school!" Martouf complained. "I already did."

Lantash took over. "I have more than 570 years experience _and_ my genetic memory contains more than a human teacher can _ever_ know!"

"Maybe, but you can't _access_ your genetic memory yet, right?" O'Neill countered. "That damn alien device turned you into a kid symbiote - and didn't you say most of your genetic memory is inaccessible until you're a teen symbiote?"

"Yeah, but I will have it when I need it - and I have my own memories as well...and they're in my head too! It's just...those that are in my genetic memory from Egeria and such...they're the ones I can't ac-cess yet. "Besides, I can ac-cess Martouf's memories of school!"

"Which wasn't on Earth." O'Neill pointed out.

"But my school _was_!" Sam said. "So I don't need to go, right?"

"Me too!" Daniel added.

"I am a _great_ scientist!" Anise insisted. "And Freya is a very competent historian!"

O'Neill rolled his eyes at them all. "Listen, kids. It doesn't matter if you think you need to go to school or not, okay? They could only enter you into the system as children, and all children your age are supposed to go to school, so you're _going_ to go to school. C'mon - it'll be _fun_!"

-  
Because of the knowledge the children had, combined with the fact that they could not be trusted to not suddenly talk about aliens or offworld travel - _and_ because two of them were aliens themselves, and only Daniel did not have naquadah in the blood - they would have to attend school on the base.

A room had been set aside, and a teacher had been found - one who had the appropriate level of clearance, and who had signed the non-disclosure agreements.

"Okay, guys. Your teacher, Miss Thompson, should be here shortly. She was unfortunately delayed, so I haven't had time to debrief her, but you just be nice, and I'll talk to her later today, after the mission. Okay?" O'Neill told the children, as he was hurrying to get ready.

"We're _always_ nice." Daniel insisted, and the others quickly agreed.

O'Neill rolled his eyes and left the room.

He was going on a short reconnaissance mission with Teal'c, and the rest of the new SG-1. The team had finally been put together after he had turned down the first many applicants Hammond had sent his way, but now he could no longer put it off. Just before Christmas, they had reached the point where they had to admit that Sam and Daniel - as well as Martouf/Lantash, and Freya/Anise - could not be turned back into their adult selves by anything but time. They had to grow up again.

With Sam and Daniel on indefinite leave, SG-1 consisted only of O'Neill and Teal'c.

McKay had been a temporary member on the few missions the smaller SG team had taken during the time while they still thought Sam and Daniel would be able to rejoin them soon. It had not been a particularly pleasant experience, either for McKay, or for O'Neill and Teal'c, as they had not gotten along well.

For the permanent SG-1, they needed an archaeologist, a scientist, and preferably a soldier, in order to get a team with approximately the same skill-set.

The choice for the first role had eventually fallen on a young Tok'ra archaeologist, one of Freya/Anise's apprentices. This also fell when in line with the goal of getting better relations between the Tau'ri and the Tok'ra.

His name was Soltof/Gimbad, and he reminded O'Neill very much of Daniel as he had been when he had gone on his first missions. O'Neill would have forsworn that he would ever accept a Tok'ra on his team, but after his experiences this half year, he was no longer as antagonistic towards them as he had been, and had to admit to liking several of them. He suspected Soltof and Gimbad would end up among those.

The new SG-1 still needed a scientist and a soldier, and the choice had fallen on Jennifer Hailey, who was both a brilliant astrophysicist, and a soldier. She did not have Sam's experience, but she would learn.

This way the team still had the same composition as before. The new archaeologist even had some fighting skills, as well as the extensive experience all Tok'ra had about the Galaxy. He also had the Tok'ra knowledge of Goa'uld technology, _and_ he could pretend to be a Goa'uld, which might be useful in some situations. Of course, the fact that he was Tok'ra could also be a disadvantage, if they were captured by a Goa'uld or ran into people who hated the Goa'uld and thought him one of them, but the advantages would seem to win out.

-  
"We forgot to bring an apple!" Daniel suddenly exclaimed.

"Why do we need one?" Freya looked at him, frowning.

"For the teacher, of course!" He looked at her as if she was a dim-wit.

"The teacher requires a bribe in the form of fruit?" Lantash wondered.

"It's not a bribe! It's a gift! To show our appre-ciation...and to make her think favour-ably of us." Daniel explained.

"So...a bribe." Lantash insisted. "How disappointing!"

"One of us should have saved the apple we got for breakfast." Sam said.

"Yeah." Daniel got up and walked to Lantash's bag, which were standing on the floor beside him. "I know you didn't eat yours." He began going through the bag.

"Hey! It's _mine_!" Lantash snatched the bag from Daniel. "No teacher with question-able ethics are going to get it!"

"It's _your_ fault if she hates us now!" Daniel insisted.

Just then, the door opened and Daniel quickly sat down.

"Good morning, kids!" The teacher said, entering the room. "I am Jennifer Thompson, but you can call me Jennifer." She smiled at them.

"Good morning, Jennifer!" They all answered obediently.

"Hmmm..." Jennifer said, "I was told there were going to be six kids?"

"Yup, six kids!" Sam repeated. "You're right."

"Okay, well, I'm guessing I'll meet the rest of you later." She smiled again. "I'm going to call out your names, and you just answer when you hear your name, and then I'll quickly learn who is who." She took out the list with the children's names on. "Daniel Jackson."

"Me!" Daniel said enthusiastically, raising his arm.

"Samantha Carter." Jennifer said, continuing down the list.

" _Major_ Samantha Carter. I'm usually called Carter, or Major."

Jennifer laughed. "Major? Of course, sweetie." She shook her had slightly, not really surprised the child would react like that, given that she and the others had been living on a military base for many months. What kind of place _was_ that for a kid, anyway? "Um, what do you prefer, then? Carter?"

Sam thought it over. "Well, if you're going to be my friend, I guess you can call me Sam. Daniel always does, and sometimes Freya and Anise. Martouf and Lantash call me Samantha, and O'Neill calls me Carter. Teal'c usually call me MajorCarter."

Jennifer laughed. "I'd like to be your friend. Sam it is, then." She looked at the list again. "Martouf..."

"Me." Martouf said.

Jennifer frowned. "No other name?"

He shook his head. "No, we only use one name in my... _culture_."

"Okay, then. You're going to have to tell me more of your culture some time." She smiled. "Next one...Lantash. Uh, I'm guessing that's a boy's name?" She felt a little awkward, having no clue really - why had they not even told her about the cultures of these children? Only that four of them were not from the US? She saw one of the children nod his head, or at least bow his head as if he was nodding slowly. "Okay, Lantash is a boy, so he's clearly not here." She smiled at Freya/Anise, the only child present she had not yet heard the name of. Or so she thought.

"I'm Lantash."

Jennifer made a small jump, then grinned at the boy. "How did you do that, Martouf?"

"I am not Martouf. I am Lantash." He started getting annoyed. "Why did you think I wasn't here? You didn't even give me time to answer first!" His eyes flashed.

Jennifer gasped. "H...how... _what_..."

"You didn't get the _memo_ , did you?" Daniel said, understandingly. "Jack always complains about that too."

"I am Freya." Freya said, getting impatient that she was not being asked. "I am host to Anise." She bowed her head.

"Hello. I am Anise." She looked thoughtfully at the shocked teacher, then felt she needed to explain. "It means 'noble strength' in Goa'uld."

"Uh...that's...that's nice..." The teacher frowned.

"She's clearly not interested." Lantash told Anise. "You know little of humans." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I...I think I need to...uh...go talk to someone for a moment." Jennifer gave them weird glances and seemed very uncomfortable, as she got up and started for the door. "I'll be back in a moment. Why don't you...ah...take a book each from the table and look in?" She fled the room.


	6. Chapter 6

A couple weeks passed, and their teacher slowly got used to them, though she still found it all very strange.

One day, the children were sitting in one of the recreation rooms on the base, building a large structure out of LEGO, when O'Neill, Teal'c, and Janet came into the room.

"Kids, Teal'c and I are going on a mission to Kelowna - Sam, Daniel, you remember Kelowna?" O'Neill said.

They both nodded.

"Yes. That's Jonas Quinn's world." Sam said.

"Exactly. He needs our help with something, so we'll be gone for a little while. Janet will be here, and she'll look after you. Okay?"

"Okay." Sam frowned.

"Who's Jonas Quinn?" Martouf wanted to know.

Sam happily started explaining everything she knew about him, the planet, and the people there, and O'Neill and Teal'c took the opportunity to leave, relieved they did not have to explain how bad things currently were on Kelowna.

-  
Janet had been called to help treat the wounded on Kelowna, so she had asked Cassandra to keep an eye on the children. They were currently sitting in the mess hall, eating lunch.

"That's Jonas." Daniel remarked, seeing the man enter the mess hall followed by O'Neill, Teal'c, and a young woman with short blond hair.

"Hi, Jonas!" Sam called out, smiling. "And Colonel O'Neill! Teal'c!"

"Are you joining us for lunch?" Martouf asked, happily.

"The oatmeal is dis-gusting, so do not take that." Freya warned them.

Cassandra just rolled her eyes at them. "Hi, guys." She told O'Neill and Teal'c, looking with interest at Jonas, and very much less so at the woman.

"Hi, kids. This is Jonas Quinn, as some of you know. The young lady with him is a smart scientist from Kelowna, Kianna Cyr." O'Neill smiled at them, then turned to Jonas. "Well, as I told you - _that_ ' _s_ Daniel and Carter - and their friends."

The young woman frowned as she looked...thoughtfully...at Martouf and Freya.

Jonas smiled, disbelieving as he looked at them. "It is hard to believe." He shook his head. "Well, hello Sam, Daniel..." He smiled at them, then at the other children. "Martouf...and Freya, is it?"

"Yes." Martouf agreed, then bowed his head.

"And I am Lantash."

Jonas looked a little taken aback, then smiled. "Hello, Lantash. You're Tok'ra?"

"Yes, I am."

"My symbiote is Anise." Freya told Jonas. "And she is also Tok'ra."

"You are very young to have become hosts." Kianna stated, still looking at them somewhat uncomfortably.

"Martouf was already my host when he - and I - became children again." Lantash explained.

Teal'c turned to Kianna, informing her. "The symbiotes became the equivalent of 6 year old human children."

Lantash sighed, obviously unhappy Teal'c was telling anyone this - particularly this woman who did not seem to like him. "I may currently only be two-and-a-half years old, but I have _much_ more knowledge!"

"Of course, you do, kiddo." O'Neill said, soothingly, patting him on the head. "We know."

Lantash looked annoyed, not appreciating the gesture. His eyes flashed briefly, and he looked as if he was considering saying something, but suddenly he bowed his head and gave Martouf control. He looked marginally less hostile.

"Amazing!" Jonas said. "You are the first Tok'ra I have met. I mean, I have heard about you, and how you are different from the Goa'uld, but to _see_ that you exist for _real_ is something else."

"The Tok'ra are very real, and in fact our allies, as you know." Teal'c told him.

"Yes, of course. Otherwise I would not have suggested using their tunnel crystals for increasing the capacity of our drilling equipment." Jonas said.

"What do you need tunnel crystals for?" Anise asked, haven gotten control from Freya. "Have the Tok'ra agreed?"

"What are you drilling for?" Sam inquired, interested.

"It is not a matter for children." Kianna said.

"Do you remember the naquadria?" Jonas said. Sam and Daniel both nodded. "It is a long story, but we need to stop the transformation of naquadah to naquadria. It is an artificial process, and it will cause much of Kelowna to explode or be uninhabitable if not stopped. We need to drill down to below where the transformation is happening, quickly, and stop it."

"They are too young to understand, Jonas," Kianna said.

"Didn't you guys keep your knowledge? I though Colonel O'Neill said that?"

"They did - they just aren't very good at accessing it. Or maybe they forget to. I don't know." O'Neill shrugged.

Jonas nodded, then looked curiously at Anise and Martouf. "How do you do that? Change control, I mean? To think that a Goa'uld...sorry, _Tok'ra_...will allow their host control...it is, _unexpected_. They can still just take control, can't they?"

"When they are mature, yes. Not when they are infants, but that does not matter. We share the body freely, and I have never dis-trusted Lantash, nor would I _ever_." Martouf explained, looking miffed.

"Do you need my help?" Sam asked, eagerly, looking at Jonas and Kianna. "With the na-quadria, I mean."

"Ah..." Jonas looked like he looked for an excuse. "I think we - and McKay -have things under control. But I promise you we will ask if we need it."

"I would be happy to help as well." Anise said.

Kianna frowned at her, then left together with Jonas.

-  
"I think the pretty lady doesn't like us." Lantash observed.

"That's ridiculous! She just doesn't want help from kids!" Cassandra told them.

"Or it is because she is afraid of us, thinking we are Goa'uld." Anise looked unhappy.

"They _need_ our help! We must convince them to let us help!" Sam insisted.

Daniel looked very thoughtful. "I...have an idea...we bake her _cookies_!"

"Cookies?" Lantash frowned, then smiled. "That's a _great_ idea! She will _love_ us!"

"Cassie?" Sam asked. "Can you take us to Janet's place or something?"

"So you can bake cookies?" Cassandra snorted. "I'm not going to look after you the whole day, you know. I have a date..." She checked her watch. "In two hours."

"But you can drive! And we will be really, really nice!" Anise insisted.

"We can bake the cookies totally ourselves!" Sam assured Cassandra.

"Hmmm. Are you _sure_ you can do this on your own?" She asked, looking unconvinced.

"Jack lets us." Daniel insisted.

Cassandra seemed to think it over. "Okay, but if you mess up the kitchen, _you_ clean it up!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay," Sam said, pulling out Janet's cookbook. "What kind of cookies do we want?"

"Chocolate chip cookies!" Daniel said happily.

Sam slowly leafed through several pages, finally finding the recipe they needed. "We need two bowls."

"Okay." Martouf pulled two bowls out of a cupboard. "Got'em."

Sam read from the cookbook. "Melt 4 ounces of butter. Mix it with 4 ounces of vege-table oil. Add 6 ounces of white sugar and 4 ounces of brown sugar. Then..."

"Stop! Not so fast!" Martouf complained, standing on his toes in order to reach up to drop the butter in the pot he had put on the stove-top. "The butter isn't melted yet!"

"Actually, I don't think you turned up the heat enough." Daniel said, lifting the pot and putting his hand on the cooking plate under it. He gave a yelp and pulled his hand away, dropping the pot with the butter on the floor. He immediately started crying.

"Of course, I did." Martouf sounded indignant, then gave control to Lantash.

"It was a stupid way of checking the temperature of the plate."

"Shut up!" Daniel said, sniffling.

Anise threw her arms around him, hugging him, then started blowing on his hand. "Does it feel better now?"

"Not really." Daniel sniffled again.

"You need cold water for that hand." Sam said, looking for something to use, then spotted an aquarium in the hallway. It was one Cassandra had bought a few months ago, having taken an interest in fish since her boyfriend had some. "You can put your hand in the fish-tank."

"I can't reach that high!" Daniel complained.

"Also, I don't think Cassandra would like it." Lantash added.

"She'll never know." Sam insisted.

Lantash shrugged. "Okay."

He started pulling a chair towards the aquarium, and Sam ran to help him. Together they got it in place.

"Come on, Daniel. All ready." Sam patted the chair.

Daniel gave his sore hand a miserable look, then trudged out to them, followed by Anise. They all helped him get up on the chair, making sure it did not trip over, and he then put the hand into the water, just a little bit.

"Those fish won't bite, what do you think?" Daniel nervously eyed the small colourful fish in the tank.

"Fish _are_ dangerous." Lantash agreed. "When I was little...well, the first time...they would try to kill me and eat me. Whenever I got out of the enclosure." He then looked Daniel over. "However, I think they will realise you are too large to eat."

Daniel nodded, then stuck the hand down deeper. The fish fled immediately. "Looks that way."

"Will you be okay here alone?" Sam wondered.

"I will stay with you." Anise offered, sitting down beside the chair and grabbing hold of it. "I will make sure the chair does not fall over."

"Okay." Daniel said. "I'll be fine."

Lantash and Sam went back into the kitchen and returned to baking the cookies.

"There's a mess on the floor from the butter." Sam said. "We better clean it up, or Cassandra will be mad."

"She shouldn't have left us alone. Daniel burned his hand. It was ir-responsible." Lantash said angrily. "I'm not cleaning it up!" He sighed, then added. "Not right now, at least." He took the pot and looked at the amount of butter left. "I think about half is still there. I'll add 2 ounces."

Sam looked at the pot. She shrugged. "Sounds right."

-  
"Okay, the butter is melted and I've mixed it with oil, white sugar, and brown sugar. What then?" Lantash wondered.

"2 eggs - remember to remove the shells first!" Sam said.

"I _know_ that, okay?" Lantash sounded terse. He cracked two eggs and dumped the contents in the dough, then threw the shells in the trash can. "What more?"

"Add 2 tablespoons of butter milk and mix well."

"Butter-milk?" Lantash frowned and went to look in the refrigerator. "I don't think there's any of that. Can I just mix some milk and melted butter?"

"I don't see why not." Sam said.

"No!" Daniel yelled from the hallway. "Don't you know _anything_? Butter-milk isn't milk and butter mixed!"

"Well, what then?" Lantash asked, getting irritated.

"I guess you can use plain yogurt instead!" Daniel suggested.

"I know a _lot_ of things, a lot of very, very im-portant things, but not un-im-portant things like what butter-milk is!" Lantash countered, hotly. He grabbed some yogurt from the refrigerator. "Do you think it matters that there's vanilla in it?"

"Probably not." Sam said. "There's supposed to be vanilla in the cookies - says the recipe."

"Okay." Lantash poured out two tablespoons of yogurt, then started mixing the dough. The spoon was a bit big for him, but he managed. "Anything else?"

"Yep. Two tea-spoons of vanilla."

Lantash thought it over for a moment, then added a little over one teaspoon, deciding there was enough in the yogurt for the rest. "Done."

"Then take the other bowl. Mix 12 ounces of flour, 4 ounces of oat-meal, 1 tea-spoon of baking soda, and 1/2 tea-spoon of salt." Sam read.

He did so. "Done."

"Pour the stuff in the two bowls together and mix well."

"Why did I have to use two bowls first, then? Why couldn't I just have put it all in one of them from the start?" Lantash frowned, looking annoyed.

"No idea." Sam said. "But I think mom did it this way."

Lantash gave control to Martouf.

"So did my mother. I also do not know why." He mixed the ingredients. "Anything else?"

"Chop up 8 ounces of chocolate...and 8 ounces of mixed nuts, then mix that into the dough." Sam gave Martouf a worried look as he started to chop the chocolate and nuts. "Careful...so you don't cut yourself."

"Chocolate is good, so I will take some extra..." Martouf said, taking a whole bar extra.

"Let me help." Daniel said, walking into the kitchen.

"Is your hand okay?"

"It's freezing cold, but I think so." He stuck it in under Sam's t-shirt and she made a yelp.

" _Never_ do that again!" She pushed him. "It's like an ice-cube!"

"You are making a mess of the floor." Freya observed, looking at Martouf chopping the chocolate and the nuts.

He looked down, frowning. "Oops." He started scooping it up and putting it back on the chopping board.

"Yeach. You cannot eat that after it has been on the floor!" Freya exclaimed.

"Why can't he?" Daniel picked up a piece of the chocolate from the floor and put it in his mouth. "Tastes okay."

"I suppose Janet's floor is pretty clean..." Sam said, agreeing.

-  
"Okay, all mixed. What do we do now?" Martouf said, looking hungrily at the dough.

"We put the dough on the...uh... _greased_ baking plate, using a table-spoon. Then we press them flat with our fingers." Sam suggested. "At least that's what I did when I baked as a child... _before_."

"Greased?" Freya asked.

"Covered in butter or oil." Sam explained.

"Sounds fine. Let me help!" Freya said.

They all started helping out, and they soon had two full sheets of cookies, looking perhaps a little strange.

"Martouf...you were sup-posed to set the oven to 325 de-grees Fahren-heit - why did you set it to 500 de-grees instead?" Sam complained.

"Because it does not go to 650 de-grees."

"That doesn't make sense!" She glared at him.

"I'm hungry. I want cookies now. They're supposed to bake for 15-16 minutes at 325 de-grees. At 500 de-grees they would only need 9 minutes...or so, don't you think?"

"Hm." Sam scrunched up her face as she thought about it. "That _sound s_ right, but something tells me it isn't..."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Daniel asked. "Sounds okay to me."

"I don't know. Let's try." Sam shrugged. "But remember...you can't eat all the cookies. They're for Kianna."

They put the first sheet of cookies in the oven and sat down, watching the kitchen clock, since they had not been able to find Janet's kitchen timer.

-  
Martouf sniffed. "Something smells a little burned." He jumped up. "The _cookies_!"

"They have only been in the oven for 8 minutes. They should not be ready yet." Sam insisted.

Martouf looked through the door to the cookies. "They _look_ finished!" He quickly opened the door and stuck his hands in, then pulled them back quickly, without having touched anything. He winced.

"Lantash yelling at you?" Sam grinned.

"Yeah...and he's unhappy he isn't old enough to be able to just snatch control when I'm about to do something...ah..."

"Stupid?" Daniel suggested, smiling widely.

Martouf rolled his eyes and grabbed a towel, using that to pull the baking sheet with the cookies from the oven. "They look _very_ ready."

The cookies were a somewhat darker brown than they were supposed to be, but not outright burned. Not all of them, at least. He almost dropped the heavy baking plate, but just managed to put it down on the floor - coincidentally on the butter they had dropped earlier. It made a hissing sound.

"Did you remember to put a...uh...trivet under it?" Daniel asked.

"No..." Martouf quickly lifted the baking sheet again, looking around for something to put it on.

"Here, use this." Sam grabbed a wet dish cloth from the edge of the sink and threw it on the floor. "That ought'a work."

"If you say so..." He put the baking plate down on it, then turned to look at the floor where it had been before. "I don't think Janet will notice, do you?" He took the towel he had used when he took the cookies out of the oven, and swept the floor with it.

"It's a little darker than the rest of the floor." Freya observed. "But it _could_ just be the butter, I guess."

Martouf scrubbed at the floor for a little while longer. "I think it's better now."

Sam nodded. "I agree. The mixture of butter, chocolate, and nuts hides anything else. She'll _never_ notice."

"Then let's get the other cookie sheet into the oven!" Daniel said, hurrying to fetch it.

"Remember...something was wrong with my calculations..." Martouf frowned. "Let's try giving the other sheet just 5 minutes first."

-  
They had finished baking the second batch of cookies, and they looked better than the first.

"We can't give those to Kianna." Martouf indicated the first batch of cookies. "But we can't throw them out either. We also really need to see if they taste good."

"I agree. Let's eat those." Daniel said, grabbing a cookie.

Martouf took one as well, and started munching on it. "It is not bad. It is actually quite good."

"I agree." Daniel said.

Sam and Freya each took one, and ate it, agreeing.

"We are _great_ bakers!" Freya said, her mouth full of cookie.

-  
"Kids?" Cassandra came through the door, looking concerned. She froze. " _Gods_! What did you _do_!" She stared in shock at the kitchen. The floor looked like it had been painted over with an undefinable substance - containing at least chocolate. A baking plate with cookies stood on the floor - the cookies looking a bit strange, but as if they were probably edible.

"We made cookies for Kianna." Sam told her.

"Like we said we would." Anise clarified.

"So she will like us." Martouf added.

Cassandra closed her eyes and got a long-suffering look. She took a deep breath and opened them again. "Well, you'll have time to clean up. You're not going back to base for some time."

"What? Why not?"

"They called me from the base." Cassandra looked annoyed. They had destroyed her otherwise _perfect_ date. "They told me to pick up some of your clothes and then keep you here for the next couple of days. Turns out 'Kianna' is a Goa'uld - and apparently they need to cooperate with her for the time being." She looked disgusted.

"A _Goa'uld_?" Martouf asked, disbelieving. "That can't be true. We would have sensed her."

"I...think they said she used some kind of drug to mask her energy signature. Never mind."

"Well, then she's not getting _these_ cookies!" Martouf looked dismayed, then smiled. "That means we get to eat them!"


	8. Chapter 8

Several weeks later.

The situation had been tense, after an ashrak had attacked the alpha site, killing several Tok'ra, Tau'ri, and Jaffa, and almost causing the alliance to break, when everyone started accusing each other. It had been a close call, and both the Jaffa and the Tok'ra had decided it was probably safer for everyone if they did not stay at the same base. They had stopped short of breaking off their cooperation with each other, but there were no longer an actual alliance between the Jaffa and the Tok'ra.

Earth still had alliances with both the Jaffa and the Tok'ra, though, but it had taken a lot of arguing from especially Jacob/Selmak, Yosuuf/Garshaw, and Bra'tac to achieve that.

O'Neill did not doubt that the Tok'ra would have probably withdrawn further from the alliance, had it not been for the goodwill that had come from Earth and the Tok'ra working so closely together as they had on the problem with the alien machine, that had turned some of both their people's into children. Of course, it also helped that Garshaw had been one of them, and that she now looked even more fondly at Earth, after having stayed there for a while. They had been able to - partially - return her to normally before the alien device had broken completely down. She was now a teenager, but the Tok'ra Council had at least accepted her back.

Jacob/Selmak were resting in the infirmary, after having broken a leg. Selmak had of course already healed it, but Janet insisted they stay for a little while afterwards, so she could see that all was indeed well.

However, Jacob was only glad to stay for a little while, since this gave him time to talk with his - now again little - girl. Sam, of course, was ecstatic.

There was also a problem they needed to take care of. Sam's brother, Mark suspected something was wrong when he heard nothing from Sam for many months. Especially when Sam had not visited or even called around Christmas. While they did not talk often, they _did_ usually get in touch now and then, and always around holidays. When Jacob had visited Mark and his family, and he had made some very vague excuses about Sam not being able to be there, Mark had become _very_ suspicious.

He had asked several times more, and had finally been told that 'Major Samantha Carter has sustained some injuries while carrying out her duty, but will recover completely in time. Until then she cannot receive visitors or contact her family.'

This had only made Mark _more_ suspicious, and Jacob/Selmak had talked with Hammond about it. A decision had been made, and Mark would be given limited clearance, meaning he would be able to meet Sam and be told what had happened to her...or some version of it anyway. The meeting would take place at Stargate Command, in order to assure containment of the information, should he react badly.

Now the question was...what could they tell him without admitting to the existence of the Stargate, aliens, and alien worlds?

-  
"Carter...your Dad's here." O'Neill said.

Sam looked up from the LEGO she and the others were using to construct a miniature Stargate - including a Stargate team, Tok'ra, villagers, and Jaffa attackers.

She smiled widely and got up, running quickly to Jacob and throwing herself into his arms. "Dad!"

"Hi, Sammy!" He smiled and crouched down and hugged her.

"Jacob!" Martouf, Anise, and Daniel yelled as well, then jumped him also.

Jacob grinned widely and hugged all of them. "Hi, kids. How're ya doing?"

"Great! Look!" Martouf pointed excitedly at the LEGO. "That's us...going to the planet Rohl'wa, and saving the popu-lation from the Jaffa!"

"That's nice." Jacob studied the model.

"That's you, Dad!" Sam said, pointing to one of the little figures in beige clothing.

"That's me?" He took the figure, looking more closely at it. It had clothing that faintly resembled a Tok'ra uniform, at least in colour. The figure had no hair or hat on - and he had a mustache that had been partially painted over, making it resemble the mustache Hitler had sported. Jacob frowned, while Selmak giggled hysterically in his head. He sighed deeply, putting the figure down. "Listen, I came here to talk to you about Mark..."

"My brother?" Sam looked surprised. "Didn't you tell him I was sick and wanted to be left alone?"

"Well...in a way, though not quite." Jacob smiled. "Seems he didn't buy the cover story and is being suspicious. George and I have decided he's going to meet you and get - part of - the real story."

"That's great! Are William and Lisa coming too?" Sam wondered excitedly. "That's his kids." She told Martouf, Daniel, and Anise.

"No, Mark's coming alone."

"Why?" Sam pouted. "It would be fun to see William and Lisa _now_!"

"His wife and children will have to wait until we see how your brother reacts, Carter." O'Neill said.

-  
"Remember, the cover story is that the military was testing a new weapon that would incapacitate, but not kill, our enemies. Something went wrong, and our team of scientists...that's you guys...got turned into kids. Okay?" O'Neill said.

"O-kay..." Sam nodded slowly.

"No mentioning the chaapa'ai, right?" Lantash asked.

"Right, and you let Martouf talk, or use his voice."

Lantash nodded. "I remember."

"It is wrong to im-per-sonate your host." Anise pointed out.

"Listen, sweetie, you know why, and it will be just like an undercover mission. You sometimes do it if you have to, on a mission, right?" O'Neill said.

"If there is no other way, yes." Anise reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Hold that thought." O'Neill turned to Daniel. "Then we come to you. _No_ talking about alien cultures or alien machines, or anything...and if there's a strange device in a room together with Sam's brother, then you _don't touch it_. Get it?"

"Yes. Why are you always telling _me_ this? Why never the others?"

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Why do you _think_? Who is it that always touches things we're not supposed to? Who _caused_ this whole mess in the first place?"

"Did not."

"Did, too! Daniel, if we were in Paradise, you'd get us all thrown out again. You'd probably get the _snake_ to eat an apple!" He shook his head. "Never mind. Sorry." He patted Daniel on the head. "Just behave, all of you. Okay? Try to pretend you're normal kids...from Canada."

"I thought we were the brilliant team of scientists who suffered the effects of the military's newest toy?" Daniel said, still sulking a little.

"Right. That too." O'Neill smiled tiredly. "And go wash your hands and face."


	9. Chapter 9

"That's why I always distrust you Air Force guys. Always messing around with some stuff you don't know how to handle. Now let me see what's happened to my poor sister!" Mark said, irritated, as he followed Jacob and O'Neill through the corridors. "How can you _work_ with these people, Dad?" He turned to O'Neill. "And no, I'm _not_ signing any non-disclosure agreements!"

"Sam's in here - together with the rest of her...ah, team." Jacob said, ignoring Mark's outburst. He opened the door and entered.

Mark and O'Neill stepped in after him. In the room Sam, Martouf/Lantash, Freya/Anise, and Daniel, sat at a table, drawing. They all got up when the adults entered.

"Hello, Mark!" Sam said, smiling brightly at him. "Long time, no see, eh?"

Mark stared at her and the other children for a few moments before he angrily turned to Jacob and O'Neill. "What is this? Do you take me for a fool?"

"No, Mark. That's Sam - and her team."

"The General's telling the truth. Carter and the others were exposed to a...ah, _device_ that unfortunately turned them into children." O'Neill explained, realising how ridiculous it sounded.

Mark snorted, but then he looked at Sam again. "You _do_ look a _lot_ like Sam..." He frowned. "Actually, you look _exactly_ how I remember my sister looking at that age." He turned to Jacob. "Dad...tell me...is it really her?"

Jacob nodded, looking serious. "Yes, it is."

"It is unbelievable..." Mark slowly shook his head. "But I don't see why you would invent such a story. However, I'm _not_ going to believe the Air Force could make such a thing. That's _gotta_ be beyond our capabilities!"

Jacob sighed. This was what they had expected. "Well, yes and no. They _were_ exposed to the effects of a device they were studying, but it wasn't one that was made by the Air Force."

"Who then? And don't say aliens, because I'm _not_ gonna believe _that_!"

"Does it matter? That's your sister, you said so yourself." O'Neill said, getting a little irritated.

"Don't you want to talk to me?" Sam said, beginning to cry a little. "Dad...Colonel, make him leave!"

Martouf, Daniel, and Freya all quickly went to stand beside Sam.

"You're making her cry!" Daniel said.

" _Bad_ man!" Freya told him.

"You will cease bo-thering Samantha, _immediately_." Martouf demanded, stomping his foot and sounding as threatening as a six year old could.

Mark sighed deeply. "Listen... _Sam_. I didn't mean to make you cry, it's just...this is all insane!"

"If you'll just sign the non-disclosure agreement, you will get clearance to hear something that will cause all of this to make more sense!" O'Neill exclaimed.

Mark looked resolutely at him. "And what would happen if I did that? No, I'm _not_ trusting you guys."

"I have an idea." Jacob pulled O'Neill aside and talked to him for a while.

O'Neill grinned shortly. "That's a great idea! How long will it take to carry out?"

"Not long. Malek should be passing close by in a teltac later today, on his way back from a mission to Sondara." Jacob said, smiling.

"Teltac? What is that?" Mark asked, suspicious.

"You'll see." O'Neill smiled. "Just spend some time here first - hang out with your sister and her friends for a while, then we'll call you when we're ready to show you."

-  
"Sam's friends are a little...strange, aren't they? Especially Daniel, though the others have very odd...speech patterns, as if they're not from around here." Mark said, frowning, as he followed O'Neill through the corridors, and then into an elevator.

"They're not originally from...the US, that's right. And Daniel? Well, he's always been a little special. Not in a bad way...he's very smart. I don't usually get along well with scientists, but Daniel's okay - and so is Carter."

"You've worked with them before?"

"Oh, yeah. For several years. They've probably saved my butt more times than I'd care to think about."

"I'm sorry, then. It must be hard for you seeing them like this."

O'Neill did not answer, but merely pressed the button, taking them to the floor where the SGC had their ring transportation platform. The Tok'ra had installed it a few months ago, in a side-tunnel they had made with their tunnel crystals. A heavy steel door and mounted machine guns in the ring room assured there would be no unwelcome surprise visitors, while still allowing for easy access. O'Neill had to admit it was a good idea, and it would certainly work well in their little scheme to convince Mark to sign the non-disclosure agreement.

They rode the elevator in silence for some time, then reached the right floor. "You first." O'Neill told Mark, pointing towards the corridor outside.

Mark shrugged, not really surprised by the other man's behaviour. He had never liked the military, and to him, O'Neill seemed to be the embodiment of all he did not like about them.

"So, where're we going?"

"Patience. You'll see." O'Neill scanned his access card and punched in a code, and the heavy steel door opened. They entered the small ante-room before the tunnel to the ring room. He went to the door on the opposite side. "Follow me."

Mark stared, surprised, at the blue-grey Tok'ra crystals everywhere - roof, walls, floor - of the corridor they walked through. "Wow...what _is_ this stuff?"

"Crystals. Carter can probably tell you more about how they're made than I can, even now."

"Yeah...about that. Why do you call her Carter? I mean, she's a little kid!"

O'Neill thought about it. "She's always been Carter to me - and I think she would be unhappy if I called her Sam. It would just remind her she's no longer a soldier and a scientist in the Air Force."

"Well, that _does_ sound like her, yeah."

"Stand right here." O'Neill stopped in the middle of some circles on the floor. "Here, come closer."

Mark stepped closer, looking confused.

O'Neill activated the Tok'ra communicator he was carrying. "Now, Jacob."

Mark made a yelp as the rings came up around him, and quickly transported them on board the teltac.

-  
"What the Hell..." He gaped as he looked around. "How did you do that?"

"Pretty neat trick, huh?" O'Neill smiled, looking very pleased.

"Welcome aboard the Tal'pat'Ryn." Jacob said, smiling.

"Eh, thanks." Mark said. He shook his head. "How did I get here? Wherever here is...did I fall through a hole?"

Jacob grinned. "Not at all. I transported you aboard a teltac that we've got in orbit around Earth."

"Of _course_ you did." Mark looked at him with an extremely skeptical expression.

"Come, then. See for yourself." Jacob waved him towards the fore of the ship.

"What's with the tapas-thing?" O'Neill asked Jacob.

"What do you mean?" Jacob frowned.

"You said...'welcome aboard the tapas-something-or-other."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Tal'pat'Ryn. It means 'falling star', and it's the name of the ship."

"How's that for an ominous name! Trust the Tok'ra to name their ship something like that!" O'Neill shook his head. "Hey, since when did you name your ships?"

"Since always, as far as Selmak tells me. I guess it just hasn't come up before." Jacob said, turning to follow Mark to the fore of the ship, where Malek sat.

O'Neill sighed before he followed.

"Ah, I see you've met Malek." He told Mark. "He's always a fun fellow, aren't you?" He gave Malek a pat on the back.

Malek frowned at O'Neill, wearing an expression that did not look right for him, somehow...more relaxed, perhaps.

"I thought his name was Johan, wasn't that what you said?" Mark wondered.

"Yes. It is." Johan told him.

"Malek is...his, ah, other name." O'Neill explained, awkwardly, realising Johan would of course be in control, since they did not intend to let Mark know about the Tok'ra. The less he had to keep quiet about the better.

Jacob grinned again. "I'll go fetch the kids - I promised them they could come."

"Haven't they flown enough in teltacs that it isn't a novelty?" O'Neill wondered.

"Yes, but apparently it has suddenly become more fun." He rolled his eyes. "No idea why. Oh, and they also wanted to say hi to Malek."

"Oh...well, okay, I guess, but hurry up so we can get on with this." O'Neill said, sitting down along the wall at the back of the piloting area. "You take a look through the window, Mr. Carter."

"We're in _space_?" Mark gasped.

"Yes. It is the world of the Tau'ri...I mean, _Earth_ you see down there." Johan nodded towards the window.

Mark reached out to touch it, expecting to find some kind of trick...setup, anything. He yanked his hand back, at the faint tickling he felt, and stared at the flicker that appeared briefly. "It's not glass - it's some sort of...what? Movie screen? You really thought you could trick me into believing we're in orbit?"

"You are correct. It is not, actually, a glass window." Johan pointed out. "At least not in the traditional sense. Glass would not be able to withstand the pressure of travelling through hyperspace. Instead, it is a transparent composite-material, containing both naquadah and trinnium. However, as you just felt, it is always protected by a force field. The transparent material is an extra safety, should the force field cease to function because of an attack or accident."

" _Force field_!" Mark scoffed. "What do you take me for? An idiot? I may not be a scientist, like my brilliant sister, but I'm not a complete moron, either! Even _I_ know we can't make something like that, yet."

"Very true. Earth scientists do not know how to make force fields." Johan smiled a little.

" _What_?" Mark shook his head, not having expected Johan to say _that_. "So...what _are_ you trying to push here?"

"I...believe Johan just means we don't know how force fields work but we can use them. We, ah, acquired them...and some other things...from, eh..." O'Neill searched for a useful excuse.

Why had he they not come up with an excuse for this? They had decided on telling Mark about the Stargate, and a few other things, claiming it was things that had been found, first on Earth, and then on one or two alien planets they had gone to. Tell him they thought aliens had made the stuff long ago, but that no one had seem them since. Same for the alien device that had transformed Sam and the others to children. It should work - and it would be partially true as well, as they _had_ found many things. Ancient aliens _did_ seem to have a tendency to leave crap lying around for others to find and play with. Things to use - and very often get in trouble because of.

He was saved from having to explain, when Jacob returned with the children.

"Malek! Johan!" They all yelled and threw themselves at him.

"Are you here to play with us?" Sam wanted to know.

"We've built a _huge_ model of Rohl'wa, in LEGO. You _must_ see it!" Martouf declared, enthusiastically.

"And there's Jaffa!" Daniel added.

"I made a chaapa'ai in LEGO!" Freya insisted. "Anise helped. A little bit." She winced, as Anise probably yelled at her, insisting they had built it together.

"That sounds intriguing." Johan looked thoughtful for a moment, while he and Malek remembered what LEGO was. "Unfortunately, I will not have time to spend time with you, admiring your work of creation."

Mark frowned at the children, who quite obviously were not afraid of the place, nor where they reacting with confusion or surprise at the alleged 'transportation' here - courtesy of those strange rings - from the base to this 'ship'.

"Johan...has Jacob told you about our plan?" O'Neill asked.

"Yes. He wishes me to..." Johan began.

"Shhh." O'Neill interrupted him, shaking his head. "Don't tell him - _yet_."

Johan nodded, looking a little unsure. "As you wish, a... _surprise_."

-  
"You speak French, correct?" O'Neill wondered.

"Eh, yes, I do." Mark looked confused. "Why?"

"We've just landed in Paris, in the..uh...Champ de Mars. We're cloaked...Johan...right? We're cloaked?"

"We are. We are also hidden behind a relatively large group of trees, so I do not believe anyone will notice anything. It is at the outskirts of the specified area."

"Good." O'Neill smiled, looking satisfied. "Let's take a walk. Buy a newspaper, perhaps. See the Eiffel Tower. I've always wanted to see that, haven't you, kids?"

"Yaay!" Sam exclaimed.

"Can we climb to the top?" Martouf wanted to know.

"On the outside?" Freya wondered.

"I've seen it. Twice. It's boring." Daniel insisted.

"I even went to the trouble of finding someone on the base that's from a country that use Euro, so I've got money to pay for admittance!" O'Neill smiled triumphantly to the children, who jumped excitedly around him.

"We _can't_ be in France already!" Mark insisted. "It's not even ten minutes since we left, and you claimed we were in orbit, then!"

"I assure you, I really followed all security directions. Our flight was quite safe." Johan sounded indignant.

"Listen, I wasn't saying you were a bad pilot - I mean, if we were _actually_ even airborne, you set us down nicely, so softly, in fact, that I'm suspecting it was all a ruse, and we've just taken some fancy elevator to the surface."

"Thank you, though the anti-gravity does make it easier to land softly, contrary to what something like an... _airplane_ can do." He shuddered, thinking back to the one time he had been forced to fly in a Tau'ri airborne vehicle. Both he and Malek had been terrified, and it had been an overall unpleasant experience.

"Come." Jacob said, giving his son a push towards the exit. "Quit being so thick-headed. You're not usually like that. Why don't you go outside and see we're telling you the truth?"

Mark reluctantly allowed himself to be pushed outside. He found himself in a pleasantly green park, behind a group of large trees and bushes, as Johan had said. He walked a few steps, circling in the direction Jacob pointed him...and suddenly froze, as he saw the Eiffel Tower ahead of him. The lower part of it was hidden by trees, but it was very obvious it was indeed the Eiffel Tower. Mark sighed, and slowly shook his head.


	10. Chapter 10

Back again at the SGC, they took Mark down to the Gateroom. O'Neill, Mark, Jacob, and Hammond stood near the exit, Mark throwing strange glances at the Stargate.

"So that's the _device_ you found?"

"It was found in Giza, by Professor Langford in 1928." Hammond told him.

"And it was made by aliens?" Mark said, not so much as a question, more as a statement.

"Yes, a very long time ago. By a race of people we call the Ancients. They have left behind many pieces of technology, as well as many ruins." Jacob explained.

"On... _other planets_."

"Yes." Jacob confirmed.

"But they're not here, now, are they? These aliens?" Mark looked decidedly uneasy.

"We think they left this Galaxy - or this plane of existence, at any rate - thousands of years ago, maybe even more." Jacob told him.

Mark nodded, looking relieved. "So there are no people out there? Just...stuff? What about animals?"

"Someone either terraformed the planets they placed the Stargates on, or chose planets agreeable to humanoid life." Jacob said. "There are plenty of plants and animals on most worlds, and much of it resembles what we have here on Earth."

"Actually, that's an understatement." O'Neill remarked. "Most places I've been to looked like it could _be_ Earth."

"As for people...ah, _someone_ seems to have taken humans from Earth and spread them across the planets. At any rate, there are humans living on many worlds, their cultures still based on various ancient cultures here on Earth, still _living_ like people did on Earth in those periods." Jacob said, a little evasively.

"Remarkable!" Mark said, now more in awe than either disbelieving, or afraid. "I'd like to see that!"

"You can if you want. We can take you to one of the planets." Jacob smiled at him.

"Why isn't this public? I'm sure lots of people would love to go!" Mark remarked.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone about this." Jacob warned.

"Not even your wife and kids." O'Neill added.

"Why not? People _deserve_ to know!" Mark started to look agitated.

"What do you think the result would be from that? Yes, there is much technology out there with the potential to give a lot of people a better life. We could power the whole plane with clean energy, requiring very little work, but if we did that from one day to another, it would mean chaos! It would likely result in mass-unemployment, and potentially crash our economic system. To say nothing of the panic that would almost certainly ensure just from people _knowing_ about these things." Hammond said. "No, we cannot risk that. It has to be done slowly, the technology released as we get ready for it. Besides, it's not...always... _safe_ out there."

"Why not? Didn't you just say the people out there were still living like they did a long time ago? What could they do? Throw spears at us?" Mark scoffed.

"Some are more developed than others." O'Neill said, carefully.

"We're not at war with any of them, are we? That would just be like you guys from the military! Getting into conflicts with people as soon as you meet them!" Mark exclaimed.

"Some of the most advanced humans we have met out there could best be described as pacifists." Jacob said, thinking of the Tollan.

"Yeah, a lot of good it did them!" O'Neill mumbled. "Poor arrogant sons of bitches!"

"Anyway, the planet we're taking you to is uninhabited, and there are no dangerous animals either. Completely peaceful, paradisaical planet." Jacob assured him.

The door opened and Teal'c and Janet entered, the children in tow. They were carrying baskets and blankets, and looked to have everything needed for a nice little picnic.

"You're bringing _little children_ to an alien planet?" Mark looked shocked. " _My sister_? How can you _do_ that, dad!"

"She's been to alien planets before - all of them have." Jacob reassured him. "It really _is_ a nice, peaceful planet. Don't worry, Mark."

Mark sighed, then frowned as he looked at Teal'c's forehead, focusing on the golden tattoo. "Uh..."

"It symbolizes slavery to false gods." Teal'c informed him.

"O...kay..."

"I am Teal'c, and this is Doctor Janet Fraiser."

"And we've got sandwiches..." Daniel said happily.

"...and fruit!" Freya told them.

"Oh, and pie." Martouf added excitedly.

"Don't forget the lemonade." Sam reminded him.

-  
Mark stepped through the Stargate and came out onto a beautiful world. Around the gate grew soft grass and flowers, as well as small trees and bushes. A winding path led into a lush forest, with trees covered by pale green leaves. Birds were singing and insects were buzzing.

He stood, stunned, for several moments, before he suddenly looked at the sky. It had a slightly odd, greenish hue that he had never seen before. The sun seemed normal-ish...until he noticed there were two of them. Aside from the matter with the two suns, there was also a large planet or moon visible in the sky, near the horizon. It was close enough - or large enough - that features were visible on its surface, making it more than obvious that particular celestial body was _not_ Earth's moon. Besides, it was much too big.

He took a deep breath. "Okay, I admit it. We're _actually_ on an alien planet." He turned around and looked at the Stargate, then shook his head slowly.

Jacob smiled and patted his back. "Don't worry. I didn't react much better to learning about this - and the first planet _I_ went to was _way_ more Earth-like."

"Congratulations on your first trip through the Stargate!" O'Neill smiled at Mark, remembering his own reaction. "It's quite a thing, isn't it?"

" _That_ it is!" Mark agreed, whole-heartedly.

"Great! Come play with us, then?" Sam said, eagerly.

"We can run ahead and see what's there, right?" Freya wondered, excitedly.

"Yes, but don't run too far. There's a lake ahead, so don't fall in!" Jacob warned her.

"I think I'll take it a little slow, Sam, if you don't mind. It's a lot to take in..." Mark told his younger sister.

Sam frowned, then smiled at him. "Oh, I understand! Okay! See you!"

She took off, the other children following immediately.

"Such energy!" O'Neill shook his head, feeling tired just looking at them.

"Yeah, I think it's good we brought all this food!" Janet grinned.

-  
"Okay, come and eat!" O'Neill shouted, trying to get heard by the children who were running around, happily playing some kind of game that currently seemed to involve throwing a ball while jumping backwards on one leg. The rules appeared to have changed steadily over the last hour or so. He shook his head at it, but smiled to himself at their inventiveness.

"Yay! Food!" Daniel exclaimed, followed by a similar chorus from the other children.

"What do you want? Cheese and ham, turkey, or jam?" Janet asked.

"Cheese and ham." Sam said, decisively.

"I don't want ham!" Daniel decided. "I hate ham. I just want cheese."

"Sweetie, you said you wanted ham on your sandwich when we made the food." Janet reminded him gently.

"No, I didn't." Daniel insisted.

"Yes, you did." Freya told him. "I heard it."

"Tattletale!" Daniel hissed, sticking his tongue out at her.

Janet groaned silently. "I'll just take it off, okay?" She opened the sandwich and began peeling of the ham.

Daniel looked defiant for a few moments, then reluctantly nodded. "Okay." He took the sandwich, inspecting it carefully for any remaining pieces of ham before he slowly ate it.

"What kind of jam is it?" Freya asked, ignoring Daniel.

"Strawberry." Janet smiled at her. "Would you like that, honey?"

Freya nodded slowly. "Yes...but Anise wants ham. Can we have the ham from Daniel's sandwich?"

"Yes, why not." Janet shrugged and handed it to her. "What about you, Martouf? What would you like?"

Martouf looked undecided, but finally seemed to come to a decision. "I think...cheese and ham."

"Here you go, sweetheart."

Mark grinned at them. "I think I'll take one of those with turkey on. That doesn't seem to be in demand."

"That is not completely true. I would like such a sandwich as well." Teal'c told Janet.

"I thought you might." She smiled as she handed them their food. "Jack?"

"Just give me one of those with jam."

Mark frowned, then smiled, as he observed Freya putting the extra ham on top of the jam, then closing the sandwich again and biting from it. She chewed slowly, an expression on her face as if she was not sure if she loved or hated what she was eating. "Listen, sweetie, I don't think you want to combine that. Trust me, it's better separate."

"I think I agree...but Anise does not." She frowned. "I believe I shall let her eat it." She closed her eyes in a long blink.

Mark grinned. "Who's Anise?"

"She is Freya's...ah... _invisible_ friend." O'Neill said, quickly, giving Anise a warning look.

Anise rolled her eyes at him, but fortunately did not tell Mark what she really was.


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay, there's one piece of pie left. Who wants it?" O'Neill said, holding up the paper plate with the dessert on it.

"Me, me!" Martouf said eagerly.

"You're _always_ hungry. Do you have a tapeworm?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not hungry _all_ the time!" Martouf scoffed. "What's a tapeworm?"

"Uh...something my grandpa said people had, if they were hungry all the time!" Daniel explained. "It's a parasite of some kind."

Martouf bowed his head, giving Lantash control.

"I don't have any parasites and neither does Martouf!" Lantash angrily flashed his eyes and completely forgot to hide the distortion. "Are you suggesting I don't take care of my host, and allow him to get _infested_ with something?"

Mark gasped and stared at him. "What? You...you're..." He looked accusingly at Jacob. "You said you hadn't met any aliens! He's _obviously_ not human!"

Jacob sighed deeply. "Well...we didn't so much say we hadn't met any aliens, as we let you think it..."

"Sorry." Lantash said, looking guilty. "I...kinda forgot I was supposed to hide the dis-tortion...and the eye flash, right?"

"I...uh...guess it was my fault too." Daniel said, looking at Lantash. "Sorry."

Lantash got an angry expression again for a moment, then he suddenly smiled. "I forgive you." He turned to O'Neill. "Can I have the pie now?"

"Yeah, sure. Here you go." O'Neill smiled, just happy Jacob seemed to be the one that got to explain this mess to Mark.

For several moments Mark had just stared at Jacob, and then the others. "You let me _think_ there were no aliens? _Why_?"

Jacob thought for a moment before he and Selmak could reach a decision about what to say. "Before I tell you that...Mark, do you remember me mentioning Selmak?"

"Yes, I think so. It's someone who got you into whatever it is you're working with right now...which means I'm gonna assume Selmak is either Air Force...or given the weird name...alien."

"I suppose you would say that Selmak is an alien." Jacob admitted. "An alien whom I owe my life - and without whom I wouldn't have started talking to you again."

Mark looked surprised for a moment, then anger replaced the surprise again. "Well, that's all well and good, but that doesn't explain why you haven't told me about them - why you guys have kept it a secret for the whole world, actually!"

"Did you forget what George...General Hammond...told you just before we went here? If revealing the existence of alien planets, planets we can travel to - and the _past_ existence of aliens who had created technology much more advanced than anything we can grasp - would create chaos and probably panic on Earth, what do you think would happen if they learned there are real, live aliens out there _now_?"

"Okay, I guess I can understand that." Mark said, somewhat mollified. "But you could have told _me_ , your _son_!" He sighed. "Are they friendly, at least, these aliens?" He nodded towards Lantash. "He's actually a kid?"

"He is, yes, and his people are our allies."

"Well, that's something, I guess."

"As for why we... _I_ didn't tell you? It was classified, of course, but there were other reasons as well. I think I will let Selmak explain." Jacob said, half-smiling a little as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"Selmak?" Mark looked around.

"That would be me." Selmak said. "Hello, Mark. It is a pleasure to finally be able to talk to you. I have wanted to do so for a long time."

"Dad?" Mark frowned. "You're talking like...like, eh, Martouf does..."

"Like _Lantash_ does, and I am not your father - though I share his feelings for you. I am very fond of you, and I do consider you and Samantha my children."

"I'm sorry." Mark shook his head. "I don't understand this at all."

"That is one of the reasons why we wanted to wait before we introduced ourselves. We wanted to give you time to come fully to terms with some of all this - the existence of alien worlds, and so on - before telling you more. We also wanted to see how you reacted, and try to figure out how you would react to learning about aliens. You seemed very sure you would not agree to sign the non-disclosure agreement, for instance. Is that still the case?"

"What? No...I'll sign. Listen... _Selmak_ , if that's who you are. How...who... _what_ are you? Is my dad really in there?"

"He is, don't worry about that." O'Neill smiled.

"My species is symbiotic, requiring a host in order to interact more than minimally with our surroundings. You father is my host, just as Martouf is Lantash's host." Selmak explained.

"Why would he do that? Why would _anyone_ do that?"

"The reasons vary from person to person. Jacob was sick, as you know, and symbiotes can cure most human illnesses. I needed a host, so it was a mutually satisfactory arrangement." She smiled. "The relationship between a host and a symbiote is closer than any other."

Selmak started giving Mark a brief summary of the Tok'ra - and the Goa'uld.

-  
Mark sat and looked out over the lake, absent-mindedly observing the children as they played in the shallow water. What he had been told was far beyond anything he had ever imagined. Science fiction had never been an interest of his, and now he was living it. He had been on a space ship, travelled to an alien planet, through an alien device. Not only that, but he had met real aliens - and learned his own father was now host to an alien resistance fighter! He slowly shook his head. It really _was_ a lot to take in!

He sighed. At least the aliens he had met had not been scary. It was a shock that one was living in his father's head...or neck, or whatever, but the two other aliens were little children, and behaved as such. He could not be afraid of them. Besides, his sister clearly was not, and he trusted her judgement, even if she was a child again.

-  
Lantash was balancing on one of the handful of long tree trunks that were lying in the shallow water. Most of them were stuck in the ground near the brink, and so did not move when the children walked on them, even if the outer parts of the trunks were not supported by anything but water. Sam had been the first to step out on one of them, and was crouching at the far end of one right now, dropping small sticks in the water and seeing them float off.

Anise was sitting on a large rock, with her naked feet dangling in the water. It was a warm day, and the water was almost tepid, so the adults had decided to let her.

Suddenly, Lantash stepped on a slippery patch on the trunk. He let out a cry and flapped his arms frantically, trying to regain his balance. It was all for nothing, and moments later he fell into the water with a big splash.

"You, know, usually people take off their clothes before taking a bath." Daniel said, grinning. He was standing on a neighboring trunk that was partially floating in the water.

A very wet Lantash got to his feet, water dripping as he stared angrily at Daniel. " _Very_ funny!" He sputtered.

"How did you manage to fall? Ate too much pie, perhaps?" Daniel continued his teasing.

Lantash's eyes flashed a strong golden-white. "The trunk was slippery. No doubt _you_ had thrown water on it earlier!"

"It's not slippery - _I_ can walk on it easily. See?" Daniel took a long step and now stood near the spot Lantash had been at when he fell.

"Lantash...are you okay?" Sam asked, worried. She carefully jumped from trunk to trunk to get closer.

"I am fine, Samantha. Just a little wet." He assured her, still fuming at Daniel, but mostly at his own clumsiness. He suddenly swirled around and grabbed hold of Daniel, pulling him down in the water with him.

Daniel screamed as he fell, the water splashing all over and showering both Sam and Anise with water. Sam had been in mid-jump when this happened, and her footing was not sure. She landed on the trunk, staggered for a moment - then fell beside Daniel and Lantash.

"You got my clothes wet!" Anise shouted angrily at them. "I _hate_ getting my clothes wet! You are _all_ to blame!"

Daniel and Lantash did not hear her, as Daniel had just pushed Lantash and they were now both fighting in the water. Sam splashed water over Daniel - who was already completely wet. "I will _get_ you for making me fall!"

"It wasn't _my_ fault!" Daniel defended himself.

"Okay, kids. _Enough_!" Jacob shouted at them from the beach. "Get in here. _Now_!"

Since they were already as wet as they could be, they just sloshed through the water and up on the beach. They threw each other looks that promised reprisal, but did not attempt to fight.

"Didn't you hear us?" O'Neill said angrily. "We've been yelling at you for several minutes, while you just kept fighting and pushing each other in the water!"

"I did not fight in the water." Anise told him. "It was _their_ fault I got wet. All of them. Freya agrees with me."

The other children chose to ignore her.

"Are you angry at us?" Lantash asked, worried.

" _Angry_!" Jacob spat. "Why would you think..."

Janet put a hand on his arm. "Jacob..."

Jacob sighed, then gave Lantash and the others a stern look. "Did it occur to you that you could have drowned?"

"We were just worried for you, okay?" Janet added.

Lantash nodded. "Sorry." He offered.

"But the water was very shallow..." Sam began, then stopped as she saw the look on both her Dad's and O'Neill's faces. "Sorry...we will never do it again."

"Promise." Daniel added. "Now, can we go play in the water again?"

"No, you'll catch a cold. We're going back." O'Neill said, in a voice that did not invite any disagreements.

"It's time to head back anyway." Janet patted Daniel on the head. Come." She told them all.

-  
Mark had stayed for a couple hours more, and spent some time talking to Sam after she had gotten dry clothes on. He had signed the non-disclosure agreement, and promised not to tell his wife anything. Now he just needed to come up with something he _could_ tell her - something she would believe! Hopefully, she would soon be given clearance as well.

A couple weeks passed, and the children spent their times following class. Their teacher, Jennifer no longer found it as weird to be teaching aliens, as she had at first, but continued to find it difficult to teach children who already knew much more about most things than she did, even if they did not always remember them. Of course, that did not mean that there were not a number of normal, everyday Earth-things they did _not_ know. Things most children their age knew, especially about contemporary culture. It remained a challenge teaching them.

Jennifer had just got them through a particularly difficult session, trying to make them understand why they needed to learn about American holidays. Sam and Daniel already knew, Anise and Freya felt they were either honoring possible Goa'uld, or of no interest to them, and Martouf and Lantash were only interested in those that meant extra gifts, candy, or desserts for them. Jennifer decided to finish off the lesson with a game.

"Kids...I got an idea for a great game a couple weeks ago, and I thought we should play it today. I brought all these nice pictures of animals and plants..." She held up a couple of them. "And I thought I would use them to check how many of them you know. I realise some of you may know them under different names, so I talked to Colonel O'Neill and got him to get the Goa'uld names for them from the Tok'ra." She winked. "No excuses here for not knowing them! This way we all get to learn something! Split up in two teams - with a Tok'ra on each, and then you write down the English and Goa'uld name of the plant or animal I show you. I look through the lists afterwards, and the team that gets the most ones correct, will win." She smiled. "What do you say?"

"Okay?" Sam said, looking a little suspicious.

"What do we win?" Daniel wanted to know.

Just then, it knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Jennifer said. "Come in?"

The door opened and a somewhat haggard, but nevertheless stoic Teal'c entered.

"Miss Thompson? May I talk to the children for a few moments?"

"Sure, class was almost out for today anyway - we can do this tomorrow." She smiled at the children. "Okay?"

-  
Teal'c gave them a quick summary of what had happened on the mission he had just returned from. It had been an emergency, and SG-1, SG-5, as well as a medical team, containing, among others, Doctor Fraiser, had been sent to extract those in danger. A film crew that was making a movie about the Stargate project had been allowed to come to, much to O'Neill's dismay.

"Jack's wounded?" Daniel asked, worried.

"Yes, but he is not in any danger. He will survive."

"Can we see him?" Sam wanted to know.

"Please?" Freya added.

"I do not believe you will be allowed down there right now, as there are other wounded as well, requiring the attention of the personnel. Soon, though. There is something else. Doctor Fraiser...Janet...was wounded as well."

"How is she?" Martouf asked, worried.

Teal'c considered how to tell them, then decided they should be told the truth. They might be children again now, but they had all been good warriors before, and he respected them. "She was badly hurt, but she is alive. Soltof insisted we contact the Tok'ra and she was taken to one of their bases. They had a symbiote in need of a host, and it has blended with Janet. The Tok'ra are confident they will both survive and make a full recovery."

Soltof/Gimbad was the Tok'ra archaeologist who had replaced Daniel Jackson on SG-1. He had now been on the team for a couple months, and was finally starting to fit in on the team.

"That is good." Sam said, relieved.

"Who is the symbiote that has blended with Janet?" Martouf wanted to know.

"I believe its... _her_ name is Rhiva." Teal'c said.

"Rhiva is a healer. She will probably get along well with Janet." Martouf told them. "She was in the same clutch as Delek, but she is very different from him, personality-wise."

"She is, however, his favourite sister." Anise added, having taken over control from Freya. "This may be good for the Tau'ri-Tok'ra relations."

-  
Too worried to be able to focus on anything else, the children were finally allowed to visit O'Neill in the infirmary.

"Hi, kids." O'Neill smiled at them, then looked up at Teal'c. "T. Good to see you all." He sat up in the bed.

"Hi, Jack." Daniel said, carefully patting his knee. "I'm happy you're alive."

"Me too." Sam added, looking at O'Neill with concern.

"Does it hurt?" Martouf pointed at O'Neill's stomach, and the bandage he had there.

"Not too bad." He winced a little as he tried to straighten up, then pulled his shirt over his head.

"We were so worried!" Freya said, throwing her arms around his legs.

"Hey, don't worry. You don't get rid of me so easily." He smiled. "Listen, I just heard Janet's awake. The blending..." He grimassed a little. "It went well, apparently." He shook his head. "Now I'm going to have to get used to _another one_ of you Tok'ra hanging around here."

"She will probably stay on the Tok'ra base for a couple weeks first, if she can even be spared." Freya said, ignoring the comment.

"What?" O'Neill frowned. "Why?"

"Rhiva is a healer at Malek's base. Unless they can find someone to take over her duties, she will not be able to leave." Martouf explained.

"A healer? Huh, well I guess they're a great match then, at least. That's something." O'Neill sighed. He found he no longer minded the idea of more Tok'ra around. He was getting used to them, and even started to like them - well, he had liked _some_ of them for a long time, but ti think that he should end up liking the Tok'ra as a group? _That_ thought even scared him a little. It was nevertheless the truth. He sighed again. "Well, I really hope she's allowed to come live her. I'd miss the doc, and I'd like a chance to get to know this Rhiva-chick."


	12. Chapter 12

A couple of weeks passed, then Janet returned to the base, now a Tok'ra. She was to be stationed at the SGC again, as was her symbiote Rhiva, of course. They had managed to convince the Tok'ra Council that it would be a good idea to have a Tok'ra there to help with the growing Tok'ra contingency on the Tau'ri base.

Today, the children were sitting in their room on the base, playing with LEGO as they often were. Suddenly, O'Neill came into the room, followed by Teal'c and Janet. They all looked concerned.

"Kids...could you each pack a bag of stuff you'd like to bring with you for a somewhat long-ish trip. We'll pack clothes, so just toys and such." O'Neill told them.

"Sure...where're we going?" Sam asked.

"You're going to stay with Jacob for a little while...or maybe a longer while, we don't know yet."

"Why?" Daniel frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Martouf looked worried.

"Did we do something to make you are angry at us?" Anise asked, giving O'Neill, Teal'c, and Janet concerned looks. "You do not want us here anymore?"

"No, no. Not at all, sweetie. It's nothing like that. Of _course_ we want you here. Just think of it as, ah, a vacation." Janet pointed towards their drawers and closets. "I'll start packing some clothes, then you find your toys. Okay? It'll be fun, you'll see."

"It _is_ nice in the tunnels." Martouf said, slowly. "And I'll admit we have missed it. Yes, it will be... _fun_ , to go back there for a short time."

"But there is no television." Anise argued. "No cartoons!"

"You have computers you can bring, and some dvd's with cartoons you can play on them. Besides, I'm sure you'll find lots of other stuff to do, so you'll quickly forget about television." O'Neill reminded her.

Anise nodded. "Yes...maybe..." She did not look convinced, but joined the others in packing the things she wanted to bring.

"O'Neill, would it not be wise to tell them the truth?" Teal'c asked in a soft voice, when the children were at the other end of the room, occupied by packing.

"No, not right now. They don't need to know Anubis is on his way here with his ships, nor that I'll probably go crazy soon from that damn Ancient database I got downloaded into my brain _again_! They'll know soon enough - let'em think it's just a vacation, for now." O'Neill said.

-  
"Welcome to Sanesh." Malek greeted them, smiling at the children.

"Thank you, Malek." Martouf smiled at him. "Ah, the base is on a desert planet again."

Sam looked around. "Where's Dad?"

"Jacob will be here momentarily. He had to attend an emergency Council meeting." Malek explained.

Anise had crouched down and picked up a handful of sand, which she now let run through her fingers. "Nice sand for building castles. Is there any water?" She looked at Malek.

Daniel added, frowning, "I forgot to bring my bucket and shovel. Do you think the Tok'ra have one?"

"I am sure we can find something you can use." Malek said, smiling at them. "Though I am afraid there is little water on the surface around here." He looked thoughtful. "Johan points out that is not completely correct. There is an oasis behind those dunes." He pointed. "I will show you at a later time. Right now we should get down in the tunnels."

"Okay." The children followed him happily.

"Ring transporter! Wheeeee!" Martouf said excitedly, as the rings came up around them.

-  
A few days later.

"I'm bored." Daniel said. "I've already played with every toy I brought; the tunnels all look alike and we're not allowed to run in them; we're not allowed to play in the science labs...and Sam's been acting weird, having several Jolinar flash-backs and thinking she _is_ Jolinar!"

"Why do _you_ care? You're not the one she tried to kiss - after having put on stinky camouflage paint instead of make-up, in a mis-guided attempt to look like Jolinar!" Martouf complained.

"Yeah, _that_ was fun!" Anise said, grinning, as she remembered Martouf trying to get away from Sam. "You sure can run fast!"

"It was the paint, not Samantha I was fleeing from!" Martouf grumbled.

"Speaking of which...where is she?" Daniel frowned.

"Are you talking about me?" Sam asked, as she walked into the room the children were staying in while in the tunnels. "See what I got." She held out what looked like very small metallic insects. She put several of them down on the floor beside the others.

"What is it?" Daniel wondered.

"No idea, but I can control them with these!" Sam said, pulling out two boxes from her pockets. "Look!" She exclaimed, excitedly, as she made the small metal insects crawl along the floor of the tunnels.

"Cool!" Martouf said.

" _Awesome_!" Daniel smiled. "Can I try?"

"I think I have seen those before..." Anise said thoughtfully. "Where did you find them, Sam?"

"In a room _full_ of interesting stuff! No one was in there, so I couldn't ask, but I doubt they'd mind I took these? They look like toys!"

"Yeah...they do! Perhaps they made them for us?" Daniel suggested.

He and Martouf had grabbed one of the small control-boxes each, and now raced each other, trying to see who could move the little metal-bugs quickest to the other side of the room.

"Hey - why don't we put up some obstacles?" Sam suggested. "I think they can crawl over them!"

"Good idea - I wonder how high up on the walls they can crawl without falling? And how slippery a surface they'll cling to?" Martouf said, enthusiastically.

"Let's find out!" Sam ran eagerly to the drawers, followed by the other children, and they began building a test-course for the little metal insects. This would be fun!

-  
"What in Netu are you doing with the proto-type listening devices!" Ren'al exclaimed.

She, and her assistant Sova, had noticed the devices were missing, and had been looking for them,

"Uh...testing them?" Martouf offered, nervously.

"Listening devices?" Sam asked. "I thought it was toys?"

" _Toys_? Why did you think we kept toys in the Section for Experimental Warfare?" Sova said.

"Uhh..." Daniel looked very worried. "Experimental Warfare?"

"Oh, yes...no I remember..." Anise frowned, looking ashamed. "I helped develop these."

"Why do they look like beetles?" Sam demanded.

"And walk like them..." Martouf added.

"They were meant to be used for spying against the Goa'uld, and so they were supposed to be inconspicuous! That way no one would suspect anything if they found one!" Ren'al sighed deeply. She suddenly spotted one of the metal bugs, lying in the corner - broken. "What happened to this one? Do you now _realise_ how valuable these are? They are not toys for children!"

"We...uh...were testing how well they could climb the walls." Martouf explained. "We even kept notes. See?" He handed Ren'al a piece of paper.

Ren'al stared at the paper, before she handed it to her assistant with a sigh. It was filled with barely readable scribbles made with a crayon.

"Well, not a complete waste, then." Sova said, trying to suppress her laughter.

Ren'al sent her an angry look.

"They climbed quite well, even in butter." Anise said.

"Until suddenly they did not." Daniel looked apologetic.

"But they were almost at the roof, then!" Sam happily added. "Aren't you happy they are such good climbers?"

"Ecstatic!" Ren'al groaned as she noticed the trail of butter from the floor, almost all the way to the roof - and the dangerous-looking make-shift step-ladder the children had made out of a box and a drawer with a chair on. "I will talk to Jacob. Do not expect to be allowed outside this room for the next week!" She shook her head and grabbed the control-boxes and the listening devices and left quickly.

Sova followed, still snickering softly.


	13. Chapter 13

One - very boring - week later. Jacob had indeed grounded the children, just as Ren'al had expected, and they had spent the week playing with the few toys they had brought. Malek, Aldwin, and Garshaw had snuck by now and then, bringing them more paper and crayons, as well as data pads with books on. They all had the children promise not to tell Jacob anything, which they had of course happily agreed to.

Finally, they were allowed to leave their room again, without anyone accompanying them.

"Free at last!" Sam said smiling. "Let's go exploring!"

"I don't think Jacob would approve. He said Ren'al had been pretty angry." Lantash reminded her. "Better stay here." He sat down on the floor and grabbed a pad of paper and some crayons. He looked at the paper, frowning.

"We could go top-side." Daniel suggested.

"We're not allowed to go outside alone." Lantash said, deciding on the dark-blue crayon.

"Yes...Dad said it was dangerous." Sam pointed out.

"How can it be dangerous? It's just sand, sand, sand - _everywhere_. I ran and played in a desert like that when I was a kid...the first time, I mean. My parents didn't say I couldn't!" Daniel insisted.

"The guards are out there of course, so it can't be _that_ dangerous. They would protect us." Lantash agreed with Daniel.

"We can bring a camouflage blanket! Then we can hide under it if anyone attacks!" Freya suggested.

"Okay." Sam shrugged. "Let's go outside, then. Anyone knows how to activate the rings?"

-  
They walked along the ridge of one of the dunes, feeling hot and bored.

"There's _nothing_ here. _Nothing_. Just sand and dry bushes." Daniel complained.

"Wait...did Malek not say there was an oasis nearby? He was going to show it to us!" Anise suddenly remembered.

"Yes!" Sam looked thoughtful. "That way, I think..." She pointed.

"I agree." Martouf said. "It can't be far away. He said it was just behind the dune, when we were near the ring transporter."

They ran in the direction of the ring transporter again, then continued up the dune behind it, and immediately spotted the oasis. It was some distance away, maybe half a mile, but easily visible.

"There!" Anise pointed excitedly. "Come!" She started running towards it, stumbling and sliding down the dune as she went.

"Careful, Anise! Wait for us!" Daniel, Sam, and Martouf all yelled as they hurried after her.

Fortunately, as soon as they got down from the dune, the sand was firm and easy to walk on, and they covered the distance to the oasis pretty quickly. Since they had gone outside shortly after breakfast, it was still early morning, and while it _was_ hot, it was not nearly as hot as it would become later in the day. Still, they were feeling warm and thirsty when they reached the oasis, and eagerly ran for the water.

"Wait." Martouf said. "Don't drink from it yet. We don't know if it is okay."

"But I'm thirsty!" Daniel whined.

"Me too!" Sam said, and Anise added her voice to the choir.

Martouf rolled his eyes at them, then gave control to Lantash.

He took a drink from the water. "It is all right. You can all drink it."

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes, don't you remember? A symbiote can tell such things by just tasting the water. With food, too!" Lantash bragged.

"He is correct." Anise said. "And the water is indeed good." She shoveled up a mouthful.

They all drank their fills from the water, then started looking around at the place. It was a relatively large oasis, with a small clump of trees and bushes, and lush vegetation around the waterhole. They had barely finished drinking, when they spotted a small, furry light brown-red animal.

"Oh, how cute!" Sam squealed. "It looks like a mini-fox!"

The animal stared nervously at her and the other children, then carefully crept closer to the water.

"It's adorable, I agree." Lantash said.

"Don't you think it would be a great pet?" Daniel said eagerly. "You know, Jack promised us we could have a pet!"

"It is cute, yes, but how would we catch it?" Freya said, having taken over control from Anise.

The fox had finished drinking water, and suddenly turned and sprinted away, almost as if it sensed the children wanting to catch it.

" _Damn_!" Sam swore. "It got away!"

"You're not allowed to swear. If Jack or Jacob heard about it, they would be angry." Daniel pointed out.

"And how are they going to hear about it? Hm, Daniel? Unless you're thinking of telling them?" Sam dared him.

"I would _never_ tell them!" Daniel assured her.

"Me neither." Lantash said.

"Or me." Freya nodded. "It will be our secret...just, better not do it again."

"We should try to find the fox...or maybe some other animal that would be a good pet." Lantash suggested.

"I agree. What animals are there in this desert?" Sam was immediately ready to look for animals.

"Not sure, but I think they would mostly be near the water?" Lantash said.

"Yeah, so this should be a good place!" Sam agreed.

"There are _lots_ and lots of animals in a desert!" Daniel told them. "My friends and I caught them sometimes when we lived in Egypt...that is, when my parents and me lived there." He looked sad for a moment.

"Hey, what about that lizard?" Freya pointed at a small, red, green, and golden lizard that sat on a rock near the water.

"That would be _awesome_!" Daniel smiled happily. "How do we catch it?"

"Hmm...why don't two of us hold up the blanket we brought...then the others can chase the lizard towards it?" Sam suggested.

"Good idea!" Daniel unwrapped the blanket. "Someone help me?"

"Okay." Lantash said, taking hold of the other side. "Try getting the lizard to run over here, and we'll catch it!"

Sam and Freya snuck around to the other side of the rock the lizard was sitting on, keeping a good distance. When they had circled it, they walked closer, making as little noise as possible. The lizard ignored them, and kept basking in the sun until they were quite close.

"Yeeeeeaaaaaaah" Freya yelled, running towards it, Sam hot on her heels.

The lizard panicked, and sped directly towards Daniel and Lantash, who managed to scoop it up in the blanket.

"Yes!" Lantash cried. "We got it!"

"Now, don't let it get away!" Daniel took off his belt and used it to close the blanket as a big sack.

"Let's look at it now!" Sam insisted.

"No! It'll just get away. We can look at it later." Daniel said, holding the sack with the lizard away from Sam.

Her attention was caught by movement behind a rock beside them. "Look...a pretty snake. Let's take that too!" She pointed at a red and golden snake that seemed to have been on its way up on the rock to bask in the sun, but had immediately frozen in place when it was discovered.

"Sam...what if it's venomous?" Daniel warned.

"Let me capture it, then." Lantash offered. He eyed the snake and slowly, carefully inched closer, until he suddenly darted forward quickly and grabbed the snake, which was still sluggish from the morning cold. "Hah, got you!"

" _Nice_!" Sam said, impressed.

Lantash was holding the snake at some distance from his body. "Get the bag - _quickly_!" Suddenly, the snake twisted in his grip, and moments later it sank its fangs into his hand. He yelped and let go of it immediately.

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

"Lantash?" Sam sounded worried.

"Are you hurt?" Freya added.

"The damn thing bit me!" Lantash sniffled, then sat down on a sand dune, shaking slightly. "That's some serious venomous shit!"

"Will you be all right?" Sam asked, nervously.

"Yes..." Lantash nodded, wiping tears away from his eyes. He then looked at the puncture wounds on his hand. They were already starting to heal, but the area was still tender. "I will be fine, but Martouf wouldn't have survived on his own. The venom was very potent."

"You're not supposed to say 'shit'." Daniel reminded him, smiling a little now he knew his friend would be all right.

Lantash rolled his eyes. "I have lived on your world for more than half a year. It is little wonder your culture is starting to corrupt me - I watch television, right?" He smiled a little, feeling better now he had neutralized the rest of the venom.

Relieved, Sam gave him a hug, and the others quickly did the same.

"Maybe we should go back. If there are more snakes like that one, we could be in danger. Or you two could, at any rate." Freya said, indicating Sam and Daniel. "We better talk to the healers and make sure they get some anti-venom made!"

"Or maybe not..." Sam frowned.

"You fear Jacob's reaction if he hears about our expedition?" Lantash asked.

"Oh, yeah...he'll go ballistic. Especially if we tell him about you being bitten by a dangerous snake. We won't be allowed to leave our room for the rest of our visit!" Daniel realised with horror.

Lantash nodded. "Jacob can't know. We will tell him nothing." He got up. "Let's get back to the tunnels."

"You're sure you're okay to walk?" Sam wondered.

"I am well, Samantha. Do not worry." He smiled at her.

"Good." She suddenly spotted something else moving, this time beside a small, nearby bush. "Another snake! And this one looks harmless!" She pointed at the small grey and brown animal.

"No! Let's just leave it alone!" Lantash said, taking a step back.

"But it's _adorable_!" Sam cooed, crouching down beside it and leaning closer. The animal was maybe two foot long, and looked somewhat thick for its size. The snake froze in place, then began sliding away when Sam did not move. "It's fleeing!" She reached out a hand and was about to grab it.

Lantash swore and pushed her aside, then quickly snatched the creature. He held it carefully - and firmly - with both hands and eyed it suspiciously. "It does not _seem_ to want to attack..."

"Something that cute can't be dangerous!" Sam insisted.

"It's not cute. It's potentially vicious!" Lantash snorted. "The _fox_ was cute. Fluffy animals are cute! I want a furry pet I can hug and that will be happy to see me - like a dog! You have a really odd taste in pets if you think _this_ one is cute!"

"My neighbors son had a snake when I was a kid. It was awesome. I wanted one, but Dad wouldn't let me - and Mom got a funny expression when I mentioned it." Sam told them, looking unhappy.

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Freya asked.

"I'm guessing no, since it hasn't tried to sink its fangs into me, but I'm reserving judg-ment until later." Lantash decided.

"I think it's harmless." Daniel said. "It looks a lot like a sand boa, just with a little different colouring than the ones they had in Egypt."

"So I can keep it?" Sam asked, hopefully.

The others looked at each other and shrugged. "Why not?"


	14. Chapter 14

Back in the tunnels, the children had managed to get to their room without being discovered. They had returned not a moment too soon, as they had barely finished brushing sand and dust from their clothing, when Jacob stepped through the door.

"Hi, kids!" He smiled at them, a little bleakly. "Sorry for being away most of the morning, but everyone on the Council was briefed on what is going on at the SGC - and on Earth."

"What's going on? What do you mean?" Sam asked, worriedly.

"We haven't been told _anything_!" Anise said.

"No...but I guess it's time to tell you some of it." Jacob sighed, sitting down on the nearest bed. "You've been here almost 10 days now, and it seems as if you're staying for at least the foreseeable future."

"We are?" Daniel asked.

"Why?" Martouf added. "I mean, it's nice being home, but..."

"We miss our toys." Sam said.

"And television." Anise looked unhappy. "Cartoons. We have already watched those we brought _many_ times."

"Well, you see...you remember Anubis?" The children all made 'duh, yeah, of course,' sounds. "Okay, he...decided to attack Earth. Now, don't worry. He didn't succeed. The good guys won."

"That's good." Sam said, relieved.

"Then why can't we go home?" Daniel wanted to know.

Jacob sighed. "Because there's this damn oversight committee. They've replaced George with someone called Weir, and closed down gate-operations until further notice. Apparently, there is some sort of international crisis - over the Antarctica treaty. Eleven other countries wants to be involved, or it will be impossible to keep the Stargate project secret. It will probably take some time to get it all worked out. Janet and Rhiva will be staying at the SGC, as will Soltof and Gimbad, for now, at least. They will be the Tok'ra representatives, and they will send reports and make sure to keep in contact with the rest of the Tok'ra, using Tok'ra long-range communications equipment to talk to our people at the outpost located nearest Earth. Fortunately, all of this will be with the permission of the SGC, so there won't be problems there."

"What about Teal'c, and Jack?" Daniel asked.

"Teal'c is staying on Earth as well, expecting gate-operations to resume again soon. Which I am fairly sure it will. The Tok'ra have told them we expect more from our ally, and I think they will pay attention. The alliance is growing stronger again, so it is not something either the Tok'ra or the SGC would want to lose."

"Jack?" Anise repeated.

"He is alive. He...had a copy of an Ancient database downloaded into his mind, so..." Jacob explained.

" _Again_? They need to contact the Asgard immediately!" Sam looked scared. "Or it will kill him!"

"The people at the SGC know, of course, and he's in stasis for now. He'll stay that way until they can fix him, so he's in no danger. Listen, don't worry. It will all be okay, and then you'll go back to the SGC - to Earth. For now, you're staying here with me, okay? I've gotten permission to only take short missions for as long as you're here, and Malek will make sure there's someone to look after you while I'm gone for those short missions I _have_ to take. Okay?"

Martouf nodded slowly. "Okay - I guess."

Sam frowned. "Perhaps they need our help on Earth? To save the Colonel?"

"Yeah, we need to help Jack!" Daniel argued. " _Why_ haven't they contacted the Asgard? Because they haven't, have they?"

Jacob sighed again. "I don't know. I think they tried, but it sometimes take a while for them to respond, if I understand it correctly. They're probably busy with something, and will come and help as soon as they can. As I said, until then, you're staying here with us. Okay? Now, is there anything you need?"

"Yes." Anise said. "Do you have a box with heati..." She was silenced by Daniel quickly putting a hand over her mouth.

"Do I have what?" Jacob looked at them, frowning. "Why did you stop her, Daniel? Let her speak."

"She means a microwave. We talked about making popcorn - so we need some corn too." Daniel sent Anise a warning look.

She glared at him, but nodded, realising it would not be a good idea to ask Jacob for a heated enclosure for their new pets. "Yes, we would like some...popcorn."

Jacob shook his head, suspecting something else was going on, but deciding not to interfere. "You're not getting a microwave!" He sighed, as Selmak reminded him the children did not have much to do here, and that they needed to find something for them to do. For now, if making them popcorn would make them happy, she thought they should consider it. "Listen, kids, it may be possible to get some popcorn made. I'll talk to the cook and see if he has some corn, or if we can get some from somewhere."

-  
"What do we do? Hammond needs a place to stay!" Daniel said. "He can't stay in the bag!"

"Hammond?" Sam frowned.

"My lizard."

"You've named it _Hammond_?" Martouf stared at him, then laughed.

"Yes, he reminds me of General Hammond." Daniel explained, a little annoyed.

"How do you know it is male?" Anise wondered.

"It _looks_ male." Daniel insisted.

"Wait... _your_ lizard?" Anise scoffed. "It is not just _your_ lizard. It is mine too. And Freya's, and Martouf's, and Lantash's...and Sam's."

"Never mind the lizard! What about the poor snake? We need to get her out of the bag!" Sam said. "I need to find a good name for her."

"What about Janet?" Anise suggested.

"Janet? Why would you name it after _Janet_?" Martouf wondered.

"Janet is pretty, and so is the snake," Sam said. "That's a great name, Anise!"

"Girls are crazy," Martouf commented.

"Yep, I agree," Daniel said.

Sam rolled her eyes at them.

"I remember...there are some fish tanks in the biology lab. Perhaps not all are in use?" Anise suddenly said.

"Do you think they will let us borrow one or two of them?" Sam asked.

"I thought we had agreed not to tell anyone?" Martouf said.

"We're not telling anyone...we're going there later, when most people are asleep," Sam suggested. "Dad had some job he needed to do right now, so he's not in his quarters. I know he's got a naquadah-powered heat pad. We'll borrow that."

"Won't he know?" Daniel sounded worried.

"Nah, I don't think he uses it on the base. He told me he had gotten it after flying for three days in a defective teltac - it got gradually colder until he had to get up and walk around just to keep warm. He brings it every time now." Sam explained.

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Martouf said. "He was _furious_ when we got home! He blamed Tock'hav - he's one of the technicians. I don't think they talk still!"

"Well he said he was not going on any long missions while we're here, so he won't need it. I say we borrow it," Daniel said, smiling.

-  
They had managed to find a relatively large fish tank which was not in use, and had carried it to their quarters without anyone discovering them. It had taken some time, and one of them had been the look-out, but they had succeeded.

It even had a divider, which could be moved, so the two pets could get one part each. The enclosure was now set up, with the heating pad placed so it heated part of each side, keeping the tank pleasantly warm. The children had poured a layer of sand over the whole bottom, and added a rock for each of the creatures to bask on. Then, as an afterthought, they had also added some soft grass, deciding the sand would be too hard to sleep on. They even had a hide for each animal, made out of half a food container with an opening cut out.

"Do you think sand works for bottom material?" Daniel looked speculatively at the enclosure they had set up.

"They lived on sand, so why not?" Sam said. "Besides, they have the grass, too."

"They need water, though. Where's the water bowls?" Daniel said.

"Here. I filled them!" Anise said, as she gingerly walked towards them with two very full bowls.

"Hey! You're dripping water all over the place!" Sam warned.

Anise scoffed, but did not deign to answer her.

"What about food?" Lantash suddenly said. "They're probably hungry after being in that bag for so long. What do you think they eat?"

"Rodents? Insects?" Sam suggested.

"Fruit? Berries?" Daniel offered. "Veggies, perhaps?"

Anise wrinkled her brow. "The lizard _may_ eat that, though it probably prefers insects and worms. Snakes are purely car-ni-vorous - they only eat meat."

"Berries and ve-ge-tables we can get in the mess hall, but where do we get rodents and insects?" Lantash said, despairingly.

"I am running a long-term ex-periment in be-ha-vioural science, using mice." Anise told them. "We can take some of those."

"Um, the ex-periment is no longer yours, is it? We should ask...uh...whomever." Sam said.

"I do not care who _thinks_ it is their ex-periment now! The mice are I, and I can feed them to my pets if I want to!" Anise insisted.

Sam looked as if she did not believe that to be the case, but shrugged anyway. "Okay, so we snatch some berries or veggies from the mess, then grab a few mice from... _your_ lab. Do you think the lizard can eat small mice, perhaps, instead of insects?"

"Yeah, why not?" Anise said, shrugging.

"Okay, let's go get some food for them then." Lantash got up and started towards the door.

"Uh, it's already past midnight. We'll just get a _lot_ of questions if they meet us out now. We better wait until tomorrow." Sam insisted.


	15. Chapter 15

Next morning, the children all ran to the tank with their new pets, wanting to see how they were doing. They had hid the terrarium behind several boxes, in the corner behind the bed that was furthest from the door. Someone would have to walk to within maybe five feet before they saw it, so it was unlikely to be discovered.

"Look! Hammond is sleeping in his cave! You can only see his nose!" Daniel squealed. "It's like he's a dog in a dog house!"

"I'd still rather have a dog." Lantash grumbled.

"Where is Janet?" Sam wondered, looking for the snake in the enclosure. "Ah, I see a tail sticking out from the cave. She is hiding!"

Anise frowned and leaned in closer to look. "The tail and the part of the body I can see, seems much to slim to be... _Janet_."

"You're right." Sam looked worried. "What happened to her?" She lifted off the lid and reached down and grabbed the hide, lifting it up. She gasped. "She's had babies tonight! _Look_! I _knew_ she was female!"

The others all leaned in to see. Sam was right. The snake had indeed given birth during the night, and they could see a large writhing mass of small snakes.

"How many are there?" Martouf asked.

"Aw, they are so cute!" Sam said, swooning. She put a finger down to them and began gently pushing them away from each other, so she could count them.

"As strange as it may seem, they are indeed adorable." Anise agreed.

"What do you call baby snakes?" Martouf wondered.

"One, two...three...four..." Sam counted.

"Snakelets," Daniel said, with determination.

"Snakelets?" Martouf frowned. "That sounds idiotic. Why would they be called that? Dogs have... _puppies_ , and cats have _kittens_..."

"Five, six..." Sam continued counting.

"It's just names...uh...it's like...uh...piglets. Yeah, little pigs are called piglets, so little snakes are called snakelets." Daniel argued, feeling he should know, as he was a linguist, as well as an archaeologist.

"Because snakes really resemble pigs a lot." Martouf scoffed.

"Seven, eight, nine...ten...there are _ten_ little snakes... _snakelets_!" Sam happily told them.

"So now we have..." Anise was quiet for a moment, as she calculated. "Two pets each!"

"I suppose we need to get some food for the little ones," Martouf said, being practical.

"And for the mother." Sam added.

"Don't forget Hammond!" Daniel reminded them.

Anise looked at the clock on the wall. "I think the scien-tists working in the biology lab will be eating breakfast now. If we hurry, we can get the mice before anyone get there."

"Okay, let's go there now!" Sam looked around for her clothing.

Finding it, she quickly threw it on, and the others did the same with their clothing.

-  
"How many did you get?" Daniel asked, as Sam and Anise appeared from the laboratory.

"Two adults, two smaller ones, and ten very small ones." Sam said, holding up the box she and Anise had put the mice in. "That should be enough for all of them, don't you think?"

"Maybe." Daniel looked unsure. "How much do you think they eat?"

"Someone's coming!" Martouf half-whispered, as he ran toward them from the bend in the tunnels where he had been keeping watch.

"Quickly, hide the box!" Anise said.

Sam desperately looked around for a hiding place, then stuffed the box under her shirt. The other children flocked around her, helping to hide the suspicious bulge. They ran, as fast as they could, past two Tok'ra that were on their way to the laboratory. The two Tok'ra looked after them, surprised, then just grinned. Children! No doubt up to something, but it was probably just a harmless game, they decided.

-  
The children were back in their quarters, and were in the process of feeding their pets. They had just thrown one of the medium-sized mice into 'Hammond's' cage, and the lizard had captured it and happily eaten it, showing a ferocious appetite that had the children fear it a little. Now they were trying to decide what size mice to give 'Janet' and her offspring - loudly discussing it amongst themselves.

"What in _Netu_ is going on in here!" Jacob suddenly roared from behind them. "Tonna and Rihka tells me you have stolen _mice_ from their lab!"

The children all jumped in fear, Sam almost dropping the mice-box she was holding. They all turned around, trying to cover the terrarium with the animals in. Sam, as unobtrusively as possible, placed the - closed - mice-box on the floor behind them.

"Uh..." Martouf began. "We were...ah..." He bowed his head, giving Lantash control.

Lantash looked very unsure, an expression neither Jacob or Selmak had seen on his face often. "We are...studying...practical bio-logy." Lantash finally said.

"Biology?" Jacob narrowed his eyes. "Let me see what it is you're all hiding!"

The children looked at each other, then Sam stuck her hand down into the tank, grabbing 'Janet' and lifting her up. The snake hissed angrily and tried to twist out of her grip as Sam held her out towards Jacob.

"Dad...meet Janet. Janet, that's my Dad...and Selmak."

Jacob almost fell over his own feet as he jumped back from the obviously angry animal. Lantash discreetly edged out of the way, not wanting to feel the creature sink its teeth into his flesh.

"Are you crazy? It could _kill_ you!" Jacob stepped forward again and was about to snatch the snake from Sam, when he suddenly stopped and his eyes glowed.

"It's not venomous...we think." Daniel said in a thin voice. "It looks a bit like a sand boa..."

Selmak sighed, carefully taking the snake from Sam. "Our name for it translates to 'grey sand snake'. They are harmless, and common on many desert planets. Regardless, it was a foolish, potentially very dangerous thing to do, as you did not know its species or whether it was venomous." She put the snake back into the terrarium and closed the lid, frowning at the small snakes that emerged from the hide. "I see. Did you capture all those, or did it give birth here?"

" _She_ gave birth here." Sam said. "Aren't they pretty?"

"Forget about the snakes, what do you think of Hammond?" Daniel asked, eagerly.

"Hammond?" Selmak looked puzzled.

"The lizard." Lantash said.

"Uh..." Selmak looked at the smaller part of the enclosure, and had a very hard time not laughing when she discovered the - admittedly beautiful - lizard in there. Something was hanging out of its mouth, and was slowly disappearing into it as Selmak looked. She realised it was the tail end of a mouse. Jacob swore inside his head, and Selmak gently admonished him, before turning to the children again. "Interesting name. So, you stole the mice from the laboratory in order to feed your pets?"

Anise nodded. "Yes."

"Why did you not _ask_?" Selmak shook her head.

"Why would we ask? It was _my_ experiment, and _my_ mice!" Anise snorted.

"Would you have said yes if we had?" Daniel wondered, surprised. He opened the lid to the tank and took out 'Hammond' before anyone could stop him.

"No, probably not." Selmak sighed, deciding Jacob had not yet calmed down enough to talk to them - at least not in a civil tone. "Having pets in a place like this is not practical."

"Why not? Malek has a pet. A desert mouse." Lantash pointed out.

"So I do." Malek said from behind them. "Selmak...I see the little terrorist cell has recruited a few new members. Did you know about this?"

They all turned to look at him. With him was one of the Tok'ra scientists, Phovol. He was one of those the children had passed in the tunnel, when they fled from the laboratory with the mice they had stolen.

"Of course not!" Selmak looked insulted. "Did you think it was a plot against that thieving pet of yours, perhaps?"

Malek glanced thoughtfully at the terrarium behind the children, spotting a snake disappear into its hide. "It would not be the first one, and my desert mouse has _not_ eaten your chocolate... _recently_ , at least."

Selmak snorted. "I would not stoop to something like this."

"Malek, don't you think Hammond is awesome?" Daniel said, holding out the lizard.

"Hammond? You named it Hammond?" Malek stared at the lizard, disbelief clear on his face.

"Yes, they are both dignified, wouldn't you agree?"

Malek pondered it for a moment, not sure what to say. Prodded by his host, Johan, he finally agreed, beginning to see the humour in it all, and opting for a diplomatic answer. "Yes, there is a certain...air, to both of them."

The last bit of the mouse-tail disappeared into the lizard's mouth, and it started wriggling a little in Daniel's hands.

"The golden fire-lizard ate a mouse?" Phovol asked.

"Yes, with great eager-ness and fe-rocity!" Sam said, excitedly.

"Interesting. We have never observed that before. We thought they only ate insects." Phovol quickly scribbled something on a datapad. "You like studying animals, children?"

"Yes!" They answered, in chorus.

"Then I have a suggestion." He smiled. "Why do you not help me look after the animals we have at the laboratory?"

Jacob had gotten back control, and snorted. "You are _rewarding_ them for their theft? Not to mention the little matter of bringing back a bunch of potentially dangerous animals _without asking_."

"Sorry, Dad." Sam looked ashamed. "Does that mean we can't keep them? I mean...now when you _know_ they are harmless?"

"Oh, pleeease, let us keep them? Jacob?" Anise begged. "Jack _said_ we could have them!"

" _Jack_ said you could have a lizard and a bunch of snakes?" Jacob asked, disbelieving.

"Well...not in so many words..." Anise admitted.

"But he _did_ say we could have a puppy." Lantash said. "And since we haven't gotten one yet, we thought we would...uh..."

"Spare him the ex-pense and get one ourselves." Sam finished.

"We just didn't find any puppies, and so we thought these would do." Daniel added, hopeful.

Jacob shook his head. He was not really angry with them, but what they had done could have turned out to be dangerous. On the other hand, they really did not have much interesting stuff to do here, as they were forbidden from going many places. Besides, it would probably be good for them to learn about animals. Educational. "I guess you can keep them, but _not_ in here. You'll have to find somewhere else."

"We can set up a place for them in the laboratory." Phovol offered. "That would be better for them anyway, since you do not have the facilities to give them the right environment here."

"But we did the best we could!" Sam complained. "They have water and a warm place to sleep!"

"You did well, but they also need heat lamps and there should be a way to monitor the temperature of the enclosure - as well as a number of other things." Phovol explained, kindly. "Do not be concerned. As my... _laboratory assistants_...you will learn." He smiled, then sobered as he looked at Malek. As the base commander he had the final say.

"I will allow the animals to be kept in your laboratory, Phovol...as long as you can guarantee that the _predators_ will not escape and endanger my desert mouse." Malek said.


	16. Chapter 16

The children ended up staying with the Tok'ra for quite a long time, while O'Neill was in stasis. Use of the Stargate at the SGC was almost completely closed off, while a treaty was being agreed on. Several countries on Earth wanted to have influence on the Stargate program now, after the discovery of the Ancient outpost on Antarctica.

The Asgard still could not be contacted through the usual channels, and eventually Teal'c - and Hailey - had been given permission to undertake a slightly desperate plan. They would be using a teltac which O'Neill had modified the engines of. He had done so on the way back from an Ancient outpost, to Earth, then under attack from Anubis. He had been under the influence of the knowledge from the Ancient database, then, which was why he had been able to do it. This modification meant the teltac could fly faster than anything else they had access to, and Teal'c and Hailey hoped it would be enough to get them far enough out to be able to transmit a message directly to the Asgard, before the engines burned out. It was a risky plan, but it might just work.

If they succeeded, they hoped to be able to get the Asgard to remove the Ancient knowledge from O'Neill's mind, as they had done before, enabling him to survive being removed from stasis.

They had barely left, when the Goa'uld System Lords had sent Yu, Camulus, and Amaterasu to Earth. They came to negotiate a treaty, since they and Earth had a common enemy - Ba'al. He had taken over much of Anubis's fleet, and were a threat to everyone. The Goa'uld knew about Earth's Ancient weapon on Antarctica, and thus considered them strong. he System Lords hoped the Tau'ri would be able to stand up against Ba'al - and that they would be willing to fight him.

The current leader in charge of the SGC, Doctor Elizabeth Weir, would be heading the negotiations. Normally, Daniel would have advised her, and assisted with the negotiations, because of his experience with the Goa'uld, their culture, and their language. Also, since SG-1 was the primary Earth team, a member of their group would be expected to take part in any case.

Of course, Soltof/Gimbad now held Daniel's position, and they were also the only members of SG-1 available. As Tok'ra, they had a lot of information about the Goa'uld, which would be very useful for Weir in a negotiation, but they also were more than a little hostile to the Goa'uld, even more so than the Tau'ri were.

To say nothing of how the Goa'uld would probably react to having to deal with a joint Tok'ra-Tau'ri negotiation team.

-  
Unsurprisingly, the Goa'uld had been less than pleased to realise the welcoming committee at Stargate command contained a Tok'ra, and they had complained loudly for quite some time, before finally - unexpectedly - accepting it.

This, more than anything else, told Weir that the Goa'uld were terrified of Ba'al - and that they were more afraid of the Ancient weapon, and thought it more powerful - than people on Earth had expected. That could be a very good and useful thing. Of course, if the Goa'uld were ever to learn the weapon not only could not be moved - and was nearly out of power - but that it could only be used by someone with the Ancient gene, of which they currently only knew of O'Neill - they might not be so respectful.

Regardless, in the end, the Goa'uld had decided they did not trust Earth had the ability to use the weapon, and they had sent a ship as a test. However, the ship was intercepted by Ba'al, and he had destroyed it. Meanwhile, Teal'c and Hailey had succeeded in contacting the Asgard, and with the help of O'Neill - who had now had the Ancient database removed from his mind - they had eventually destroyed the Replicators that had infested Thor's ship and several Asgard planets. Hopefully, that was the last they would see of this plague, but that remained to be seen.

Back again on Earth - and with the Stargate program re-opened - Jack O'Neill had been promoted to Brigadier General and put in command of Stargate Command, after General Hammond had been promoted. Hammond would be overseeing all things relating to Earth's defense on behalf of the Pentagon and Washington - the S.G.C., the 303 program, the Antarctic site. Unofficially it was called Homeworld Security.

SG-1 was now again a man short. Hailey was the only one on the team who was an Earth citizen - and the only one who was officially part of the US Air Force. Unfortunately, she had no where near the seniority to be appointed leader of the team, so a three (or four, counting Soltof and Gimbad both) man team was not an option either. They needed to find someone for that position, and until then, SG-1 was on stand-down.

-  
It was now mid-July, and the children had returned from the Tok'ra. While they were happy to be back, they also missed the tunnels, having learned to appreciate them - or re-appreciate them, as was the case for the Tok'ra children. Regrettably, they had not been allowed to bring their pets to the SGC, but Phovol had promised he would take good care of them, and that they could visit.

"Wauw, you're a _General_ now, Jack!" Daniel said, sounding very impressed.

" _And_ in charge of the _whooole_ base!" Freya added.

"That means were allowed to play in the mess hall now, right?" Lantash asked, hopefully.

"And roller-skate in the corridors?" Sam added. "You'll remove all those stupid, silly rules, won't you?"

O'Neill smiled at them. "Yes, I'm in command of the base - something I'm sure I'm going to regret ever agreeing to." He sighed. "I'm sorry, kids, but I don't think I can remove those laws...though, perhaps we can bend them a little, sometimes." He winked at them. "It's soon your birthdays - perhaps we'll think of something then."

"Yeeah, _birthday_!" Freya squealed, followed by happy cries from the other children as well.

In just over a week, it would be one year since they had all been turned into children. When it had been clear it would not be possible to undo it, that date had been chosen as their birthday. It was now entered into the official databases, where they had all been registered, The children had been shown these record - making them accept the date as their birthday, though all of them had attempted to claim they should have gifts on their 'real' birthday as well. O'Neill smiled a little to himself at the thought.

"I want some more LEGO!" Daniel said excitedly. "And some dinosaurs!"

"Ooh, _gifts_! I want a Playstation!" Lantash said. "Martouf says he would like some transformers...and a puppy. I want a puppy too!"

"Playstation! Yeah, that's a _great_ idea!" Sam agreed. "I would _love_ to get that 'Grand Theft Auto' game - or 'Medal of Honor'!"

"Um, I'm not sure those games are a good choice, but we'll see." O'Neill tousled her hair. "Dinosaurs, eh, Daniel? I hope you don't mean life-size ones!" He grinned. "Don't worry, kids, I'm sure we'll find some great gifts for you."


	17. Chapter 17

"So, you're going to make a wonderful birthday cake, together with Teal'c, while the rest of us fix up the mess hall." O'Neill told the children. "Don't worry, it'll be a great birthday party."

"Why can't we have it at your place? Or Janet's?" Daniel complained.

"You know why. There's been some activity from rogue N.I.D. agents again, so it was decided you would be safer here." O'Neill explained.

"They can't come here, right?" Sam asked, worried.

O'Neill shook his head. "No, I promise you. You're safe here."

-  
Teal'c took the _huge_ birthday cake to the large center table, that had been created by pushing several normal tables together in the middle of the mess hall. The cake actually looked very delicious, despite any fears some people might have had about a cake made by an alien warrior and decorated by a bunch of children - some of them alien.

The table was covered with a white paper tablecloth, but otherwise it was decorated in a multitude of colours. The paper plates and plastic cups had various pictures of cartoon figures on them, as did the napkins. Streamers hung across the room, with the text 'Happy Birthday' in colourful lettering. Confetti and serpentines had been strewn generously all over the table, and balloons were everywhere.

Besides the cake, which Teal'c had now placed in the center of the table, there were several plates with food, as well as jugs with lemonade.

Sam, Martouf/Lantash, Freya/Anise, and Daniel stared at it all with excitement, then discovered the small table beside the large one. This truly drew their attention, as it was stacked with packages - gifts for the children.

"Happy Birthday!" shouted O'Neill, together with the members of the new SG-1 - as well as Janet, Jacob, Hammond, and several other SGC personnel and Tok'ra.

"Nice cake!" O'Neill said, appreciatively.

"Thank you, O'Neill." Teal'c said. "It is a chocolate cake - a decision which was easy to make. The choices for the decoration required much more deliberation, but an agreement was eventually reached."

"Yeah, I can see that." O'Neill smiled. The cake had both frosting and whipped cream, and someone had made a - quite decent - illustration of a Stargate on top of it. It seemed to have been made out of coloured icing. "Aren't there too many lights, though?" He counted. "Thirty-four...they're only seven - and three, respectively."

"Four times seven, plus two times three...that's thirty-four!" Sam told him.

"Ah, I see. That makes sense...I guess." He grinned. So that was why the candles were placed in six groups.

"Can we open our presents now?" Daniel asked.

"Soon, but not until after you've eaten, sweetie." Janet smiled, ruffling his hair. "Come, there's lots of different sandwiches for you to chose from!"

"Is it all right if I only eat cake?" Martouf wondered, eying the cake hungrily.

"Oh, me too!" Sam said.

"No cake until you've eaten at least one sandwich, and that goes for both of you!" Jacob told them, sternly. " _And_ you, Lantash!" He added, when he saw Martouf bowing his head and giving Lantash control.

"Not fair!" Lantash grumbled.

"Can I light the candles on the cake?" Anise asked, eagerly.

"It's too early to light them, honey. We're waiting until after we've eaten the sandwiches, otherwise they'll just burn down before you have time to blow them out." Janet said.

"Remember, you need to blow out _all_ your candles - and none of the others! If you succeed, you're allowed to make a wish! But you shouldn't tell anyone about the wish." Jacob explained.

"If I don't tell anyone what I wish, how will it ever come true?" Anise wondered, very reasonably.

"The wish-ful-filling fairies are telepaths." Sam explained, looking serious.

-  
Lantash carefully studied the three candles he would be blowing out. He did not want to risk blowing out any of Martouf's candles, which were located pretty close by on the cake - which were overloaded with candles, making it impossible to put them at much of a distance. Anise had blown out one of Freya's candles, and had been teased for it.

Feeling reasonably certain he would not suffer the same indignity, he took a deep breath and blew hard at the candles. All three were blown out, and none of the others were, even if two more flickered dangerously for a moment. He smiled triumphantly.

"Nice, Lantash!" O'Neill said, clapping his hands.

Lantash gave control to Martouf, who gave his seven lights a long look. He then breathed in deeply, and blew hard at them...extinguishing _six_ of the lights! He winced, obviously being teased mercilessly by Lantash, and quickly blew out the last candle.

"Can't you even blow out seven candles?" Daniel grinned. "Just wait until it's _my_ turn - I'll show you how it's done!"

Martouf glared at him, obviously considering retribution.

"Be nice, Daniel. So, who goes next?" Janet quickly asked Sam and Daniel, not wanting anyone to fight.

"Me," Sam said, immediately.

Daniel shrugged. "No problem. It's just gonna be easier for me."

"Yes, and that's the only reason you'll succeed!" Martouf challenged.

Sam blew out her candles without problem, and smiling, she turned to Daniel. "Your turn."

Confident, Daniel turned to the cake and took a deep breath, then blew at the candles. Somehow, he had misjudged the amount of air needed, or perhaps the distance, but regardless of the reason, the result was the same. One candle was still lit when he was out of air. He stared at it, expressions of surprise and dismay mingling on his face. " _Damn_!" He hissed under his breath.

Martouf's eyes gleamed with mirth, and he was about to tease Daniel, when Janet sent him a warning look. He looked displeased, but decided against saying anything. He did _not_ want Janet to be angry at him.

"Good! Now we can finally cut the cake!" O'Neill said. "Teal'c - give me a large slice!"


	18. Chapter 18

The adults ate their pieces of cake slowly, while the children wolfed theirs down.

"Gift-time!" Freya said, her mouth full of cake.

"Wait until we've all finished eating - and don't talk with your mouth full!" Janet admonished.

Freya emptied her glass of lemonade and put it down. "I _am_ finished."

"I said _all_ of us, not just you. What about Anise? Everyone else?" Janet asked gently.

"Anise is not hungry anymore either." Freya looked around. "Sam, Martouf, Lantash, and Daniel have finished their food as well."

"We kids can open gifts while you grown-ups finish eating, can't we?" Daniel suggested, hopeful. "After all, it's our birthday, so we're the only ones that _have_ any gifts to open!"

"Yeah, can't we?" Lantash added.

"Please?" Sam looked at Janet with her most adorable expression. "Pretty please?"

Jacob grinned. "Give up and surrender, Janet! They won't give you the peace to eat your own cake, otherwise."

"Yeah, it may not be the right signal to send, but sometimes you have to cut your losses and give in." O'Neill said, smiling wryly. "Okay, kids. Go for it...there should be name tags on all the presents."

"Yaaaaaaaaaay!" Sam squealed, followed by similar outcries from the other children. They ran to the low table and started grabbing at the colourful, wrapped packages.

Daniel picked up one of the presents and shook it, trying to determine its contents.

"Careful, Danny-boy!" O'Neill called out. "Some of the stuff is fragile!"

"I _am_ careful!" Daniel sounded indignant. He began tearing at the paper, suddenly seeing his name was not on the tag. "Oops..."

"Hey, that's _mine_!" Sam exclaimed, snatching the package from Daniel.

"Wheeeee! I got a D-V-D...'Finding Nemo'!" Anise squealed.

"It's about fish. Who wants to watch a movie about fish!" Lantash said, shuddering.

"I got a copy of the first season of 'Wormhole Extreme'..." Sam frowned. "If you want, I'll let you watch that."

"Maybe. What is it?" Lantash asked, as he unwrapped his gift.

"Science fiction." Sam explained.

"Made to take away peoples focus from the Stargate project." Daniel explained. "What did ya get?" He asked Lantash.

"DVDs...the 'Star Wars Collectors edition'" Lantash sighed. "From Teal'c. I believe we have watched this before."

"Several times." Sam said, grinning. "It's his favourite!"

"It also contains a figure...of a hairy, faintly humanoid creature. I believe it is a character in the movie, called 'Chewbacca', or something." Lantash said, then bowed his head and transferred control to Martouf.

"Yup." Sam said. "You got that right."

Martouf looked over the packages and snatched one with his name on the tag, unwrapping it quickly. "First season of something called 'Star Trek: Deep Space 9'. Science fiction, I am guessing, from the picture on the front."

"I also got a D-V-D...it is called 'Star Trek: First Contact." Freya told them.

Daniel opened his present, finding a DVD also. "Star Trek: The Original Series. First season. We all got sci-fi - except Anise."

"Yes, Teal'c chose them for you." O'Neill said, smiling. He stuffed the rest of his cake into his mouth. "Great cake, T!" He said, with his mouth still full.

"I still think they're too young for most of those." Jacob complained. "They're only seven - and three!"

"Aw, come on! They've all got memories of _much_ worse things than what _those_ movies show!" O'Neill said. "They can handle it!" He sighed. "We should really have gotten you a couple seasons of Simpson's. It's a great series. You'll love it."

"Or you would, at any rate...as for them having memories of nasty stuff? Yes, but for some reason they usually do not _actively_ remember many of their previous experiences and knowledge." Janet pointed out. She sighed. "But I agree, those movies will probably not hurt them."

The children unwrapped the rest of their - quite many - gifts. Several of the people on the base, as well as many of the Tok'ra, had wanted to give them something. Among other things, they got the much-wanted playstation with a couple of games - though not the ones Sam had wished for. They also got LEGO, and new clothes and shoes, as they were starting to out-grow what they had. In addition to this, they each got swimwear - something which confused the Tok'ra greatly, because why would you wear clothes when you swim, if you don't when you bathe?

-  
"Time to play a game!" Janet called out.

"Yay, game!" Sam clapped her hands.

"In a moment...I'm building an awesome model of the Sphinx," Daniel said, absentmindedly.

"Now, Daniel," O'Neill told him, sternly.

Daniel sighed, but joined the others. "Okay, okay..."

"Come on! Not just the kids! The more the merrier!" Janet grinned. "Rhiva and I have picked several games that'll be fun for all of us!"

"I shall join you, then." Teal'c said.

"Dad?" Sam looked at Jacob.

He rolled his eyes, but eventually gave in to Selmak's desire to make the children happy. "Okay..."

"Cassie?" Janet asked.

Cassandra sighed, feeling she was really to old for these kinds of children's games, but if Jacob participated, she could hardly say that. "I guess." She shrugged and joined them.

"No one else?" Janet challenged. "Jack? _Malek_?"

Malek groaned inaudibly, but joined them. "As you wish."

"Ah...no, no, _no_!" O'Neill said. "My knee is hurting more than usually, so I don't think so!" He had barely gotten the words out, before he realised his error.

"Your knee hurts? Why haven't you come down to the infirmary, then?" Janet gave him a sharp look. "I expect to see you there first thing tomorrow morning!" She then gave control to Rhiva.

"While we can relieve the pain temporarily, with either a healing device or medicine, there is also a more permanent solution, as you know..." Rhiva said.

"Permanent solution?" O'Neill asked, suspiciously.

"Yes, a good friend of mine is currently in a tank, and he..."

"Ah. _No_!" O'Neill shook his head. "I'll happily admit I've gotten to like... _most_ of you guys, but I'm not ready for a permanent lodger."

"That is your choice, of course," Rhiva said, shrugging. She then gave control back to Janet.

"You know, Jack, you really should consider it. There's lots of advantages, and as your doctor..." Janet said, smiling. O'Neill gave her a long-suffering look, and she decided to let it go. For now, at least. "Anyone else want to join our games?"


	19. Chapter 19

Janet got maybe a handful of other people to join, and soon they were ready to play.

"What do we do?" Martouf wondered.

"The game is called 'pin the tail on the donkey'. You see that picture of a donkey?" Janet pointed to a poster of a cartoon donkey. It was attached to a piece of soft, thick cardboard, so it would be possible to easily get a pin to stick in it.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Rhiva has made a hat, a scarf, and a tail for you to put on the poster. See? She's quite the artist, won't you agree?" Janet showed him the pieces of paper with the colourful drawings on, each with a pin through them. "You will be blindfolded, spun around a couple times, and then you will try to pin the object to the right place on the donkey. The winner are whomever gets closest to the right spot. Sounds easy, right?"

"I suppose..." Martouf frowned. He took the 'tail' Janet handed him, and let her tie the blindfold around his eyes.

She spun him around several turns, then gently pushed him off in the direction of the picture of the donkey. "Go!"

He stumbled a few times, then walked reasonably straight. He was clearly unsure of the direction, but suddenly made a decision, walking directly ahead, his arm stretched out before him with the paper-tail and pin held out.

"Hey! _Careful_ with that thing!" O'Neill exclaimed, as Martouf attempted to pin the tail to his leg. " _That_ way." He swirled him around in another direction and pushed him off again.

"This is a stupid game!" Martouf grumbled in a low voice, as he slowly, deliberately, continued on in the direction he had been pointed to.

"A little to the left, Martouf!" Sam squealed. "You're almost..."

" _Shut up!_ " Daniel and Anise yelled at her at the same time, not wanting to diminish _their_ chances of being the winner.

Martouf stood, unsure, for a few moments. Then he reached out his hand, and feeling something under it, he pressed the pin in - placing the tail on the lower leg of the donkey. He pulled off the blindfold and stared at the picture. He scowled.

" _Wrong_!" Daniel grinned, triumphantly. "Wrong, wrong! Just wait and see how it's done! It's _my_ turn now!" He ran to Janet. "Please?"

"Of course, if you want." She smiled. "Martouf - you actually did a great job - it's not as easy as it looks like." She pulled out a black marker. "Let me just mark off where you put the tail, and then it's Daniel's turn." She did, then returned to Daniel, tying the blindfold on him. "Do you want to try tail, scarf, or hat?"

"Hat." Daniel said, confidently.

"Okay. Here you go!" Janet gave him the paper hat with the pin, then quickly spun him around before pushing him gently off in the direction of the painting.

Daniel walked in a slight zig-zag pattern, but continued in the general direction of the wall with the donkey-picture on. After a few steps he veered off course, and almost bumped into Teal'c, who did as O'Neill had with Martouf, and steered Daniel towards the picture. He reached the wall and felt around on it for a few moments, then pinned the hat - to the back end of the donkey.

"Haha...you put it on the _ass_ of the _ass_!" Anise giggled. "You should have picked the tail!"

Annoyed, Daniel tore off the blindfold and stared at the offending hat. "It was whomever pushed me that's at fault!" He exclaimed.

"Teal'c steered you in the right direction, Daniel!" Martouf grinned. "You'd have ended up putting the hat on that notice with todays menu, if he hadn't helped you!"

"Anise - you're not supposed to say ass!" Sam told her.

"You did too!" Anise said.

"Did _not_!"

"Yes, you did - just now!"

O'Neill rolled his eyes at them. "Who's next?"

"Me." Sam said. "Memememe..." She jumped excitedly up and down.

"Okay, your turn it is!" Janet grinned. "Come here!"

Sam managed a little better than Daniel, but not as good as Martouf, and then it was Anise's turn. She confidently walked in a straight line in the direction she felt was correct - and stuck the donkey's scarf to the wall beside the poster - pressing hard to get it to stick. This earned her more than a few teasing remarks. Lantash chose the tail, just as Martouf had, deciding it would be easier this time since he must have learned from what Martouf did wrong. As it turned out, he did almost exactly as well as his host - which annoyed him a great deal, but pleased Martouf almost as much as it annoyed Lantash.

Freya was next, and she made the same reasoning as Lantash, deciding to go with the same item as her 'soulmate' had - and to her great pleasure, she did much better than her, placing the scarf on the back of the donkey!

After all the children had played, it was the adults turn. The children found it greatly entertaining to see that the adults did no better than they had, and that several of them did worse.

In the end - after much laughter - Martouf was declared a winner.

"What do I win? What do I win?" He asked, happily.

"You get to pick one of these prizes." Janet said, smiling. She pointed at three packages on the table. "There's three games with prizes, so one for each game."

Martouf looked at them, undecided, for a few moments. "Can I touch them before I pick?"

"Nope." O'Neill said. "No feeling or shaking the packages - just pick one you think is good."

Martouf looked at the wrapped prizes for a few minutes more, slowly sucking on a finger as he contemplated the options.

"Come on! Pick one!" Sam urged him.

"Do you want _me_ to pick one for you?" Anise offered.

"No...I want this one." Martouf grabbed one of the packages - a medium-sized rectangular box. He quickly tore off the paper. "A transformer! _Awesome_!" He exclaimed.

"What's the next game?" Daniel asked, looking with envy at Martouf who was taking his toy out of the box.

"Balloon target game!" Janet told them.

"What's that?" Sam asked. "We shoot balloons with a rifle?" She added, hopefully.

"Cool!" Anise said, excitedly.

"No, no rifles - or any other kind of firearms!" Janet grinned. "We use this..." She picked up and unfolded a large bulls eye target and put it on the floor. "And then I need a couple of strong men to blow up these balloons." She held up a package of long skinny balloons. "Just twelve or so of them - this game is only for the kids, but I think it'll be funnier if they have a couple each."

Malek and Teal'c volunteered, and quickly inflated the balloons. Janet watched them doing so, suspecting they were trying to out-do each other. She shook her head slowly. Well, it was all right with her - this meant the children would get to play the games sooner. She noticed they were looking both eager and impatient. Except for Martouf, who was playing with his transformer toy.

-  
After the children had spend some time attempting to throw the balloons in such a way that they hit the target - and most of the time failing miserably, but having a lot of fun in the process - Janet decided a winner could not be declared. Instead, she improvised a game which she called 'carry the most balloons', which the children enthusiastically tried to succeed in.

Sam won this game - but only because she figured out how to rub the balloons so as to create static electricity, which meant she could get them to stick to her.

The last prize winner was found from a game of 'musical chairs' - played among both the children and the adults. In retrospect, Janet realised it may not have been a good game to choose, because the Tok'ra children could only occupy one chair, and only one of them could be in control at the time. She sighed and made a mental note to remember this when she picked games in the future. As it was, Anise and Freya got to share the prize.

"Okay, only one final game before we eat the rest of the cake!" Janet said. "I call it 'balloon stomping game'! There's no prizes, but it's a lot of fun, and everyone can participate." She handed out a balloon and a piece of string to each of the guests. "Blow the balloon half full of air, then tie it to your ankle. When I yell 'go', you all try to stomp everyone else's balloons, without them stomping yours. Any questions?"


	20. Chapter 20

The day after the children's birthdays, Janet/Rhiva asked to have them sent down to the infirmary, for a yearly check-up.

"I don't need it! I am healthy - and so is Martouf." Lantash insisted. "Do you not trust I can take care of us?" He looked at Janet with an arrogant, annoyed expression.

"Of course we do, honey." Janet said soothingly. "It's just that you and Anise are the first symbiotes to take a host this young - that we know of, at least. It's also rare to have children become hosts when they're only six, like Martouf and Freya, so we'd really like to check on you now and then, just to make sure you're all growing and developing as you should."

"We're both _fine_!" Lantash grumbled, but he obediently sat down on the examination couch anyway.

Janet and Rhiva examined both Martouf and Lantash thoroughly, taking blood samples, listening to their hearts, measured weight and height - and used a Tok'ra scanner to check on Lantash's length and development. Martouf and Lantash suffered it all in silence, mostly, but they were very happy when the doctor's were finally finished with their examinations.

"You are fine! Growth and development is perfect, for both of you." Rhiva told them, smiling.

"Of _course_ it is!" Lantash looked insulted. "I _told_ you! I've got it all under control."

"Yes, you do." Rhiva gave control to Janet.

"Here, because both of you behaved so good." She handed him _two_ lollipops. "Now, go over and wait while Rhiva and I examine your friends?"

Lantash nodded and took the candy. "Okay." He smiled. "Thanks!"

"Sam?" Janet called out. "Your turn."

"Why do you need to check on _me_? I don't have a symbiote - I'm just a normal kid!" Sam complained.

"Not quite, sweetie. You've still got naquadah in your blood, and all the changes Jolinar did to your biochemistry are all still there. Getting turned into a child didn't alter that - and we've got _no_ idea how that will affect you growing up." Janet patted the examination couch. "So you come and sit here, young lady."

Sighing dramatically, Sam jumped up on the low couch and sat there, her arms crossed. "Okay. I'm here. Do your worst!"

Janet rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I'm not so sure it's such a good idea letting Jack look after you guys."

-  
Janet and Rhiva had found Sam, as well as Anise and Freya, to be in good health, and developing normally.

"Daniel! Come here - your turn." Janet waved at him, trying to catch his attention.

Sam trudged over to where Daniel was sitting and unceremoniously pulled the book he was reading in out of his hands.

"Hey!" Daniel looked up, annoyed. "I was reading that!"

"Yup, but Janet wants to prod you with needles. Go!" Sam grinned.

" _Needles_!" Daniel looked fearfully towards Janet.

"Sam, be nice!" Janet admonished. "Don't worry, Daniel. No needles - or at least only one. I'm going to draw a little blood for analysis, but the rest of the examination is completely painless." She smiled at him.

Daniel eyed her suspiciously, but walked over and sat down on the couch. "O-kay...but I've got no na-quadah or symbiote or anything...why do _I_ have to go through this!" He complained.

"Being transformed back into a child is hardly normal. Now, sit still, sweetie."

-  
"The children are all in good health, and there doesn't seem to be any abnormalities in their development," Janet told O'Neill.

"Great!" O'Neill said. "I was considering taking a few days off and go fishing at my cabin - and I was thinking of bringing the kids. It would be good for them to get out a little."

"Oh, I agree, but what about the N.I.D.?" Janet wondered.

"No recent reports about them, so I think we're good." O'Neill yawned. "Damn, I could really use a break. You know, they keep bugging me about finding someone to put on SG-1. I _know_ someone is needed, but I don't want to put that Russian...what's-his-name on it, I mean, according to his papers he couldn't be a better pick, but..."

"Colonel Alexi Vaselov...but it isn't about him, is it? You still doesn't really want to admit you're not going back to being on the team, and putting someone else on it will prove that." Janet pointed out.

"Whatever," O'Neill said, in a dismissive tone. "Listen, why don't we make it a holiday for all of us? You, Teal'c, Cassie, me, and the kids? We'll bring Hailey and Soltof/Gimbad too, and make it SG-1 past, present, and future."

Janet grinned. "Cassie and I haven't _been_ on SG-1, you know."

"Well, maybe you will in the future. You've got time, you know...Rhiva and all."

"True." Janet nodded. "I'll think about it, but I don't think Rhiva and I can take the time off - besides, I'm not really interesting in going fishing."

-  
Next day, O'Neill, Teal'c, and the children left for a trip to O'Neill's cabin. Cassandra, Hailey and Soltof/Gimbad had made excuses, finally admitting they did not find going fishing in the middle of no-where to be particularly entertaining. Several of the children had tried to argue the same, but O'Neill had told them they would have fun - and besides, this was how it would be, so there was no point in arguing.

Before O'Neill left on vacation, he had temporarily transferred command of the base to Louis Ferretti - recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. His superiors might not be too happy about it, but O'Neill wanted someone there he could trust - and who had enough experience to handle it. Ferretti had accepted the job, but reluctantly, despite O'Neill's assurances it was easy and that nothing would happen while he was gone.

They now sat in the large car O'Neill had borrowed at the base - Teal'c and O'Neill in the front, and all the children in the back. They had driven for maybe half an hour, so there was still a long way to go.

"O'Neill - where's your cabin?" Lantash asked.

"Not far from a little town called Silver creek. It's in Minnesota."

"Minne-sota?" Lantash frowned. "That is a different...uh... _state_ is it not?"

"Yup."

"How far away _is_ that place?" Anise asked, getting worried.

"Just over 1000 miles," O'Neill said. "I told ya, didn't I? It'll take us about 16 or 17 hours to get there."

"16 or 17 _hours_!" Sam repeated, horrified. "What are we going to _do_!"

"You've got several DVD's and something to play them on - that oughta keep you entertained for some time - and don't worry, I'm not gonna drive it all in one stretch anyway, so we'll take breaks every four hours or so." O'Neill promised.

"It's still along trip." Daniel complained. "Can't we drive half today and half tomorrow?"

"We wanna get there quickly, don't we? It's only a week, so if we take two days getting there and two days going back, we won't have much of a vacation." O'Neill argued. "Besides, you're not the one driving, so what are _you_ complaining about?"

Daniel grumbled something, but by now Sam had gotten a DVD loaded into the player, and he settled down to watch like the others.

The DVD box-set "Life on Earth" with David Attenborough had come out just under a year before, in the UK, but one of O'Neill's friends had brought it here for the children. It was a captivating series, and long enough that they would have something to watch during the entire trip. O'Neill felt quite pleased with himself that he had thought to bring that for the journey!

-  
"Jack...I need to pee!" Freya said.

"We'll take a break in 10 minutes, sweetie."

"I don't think I can wait 10 minutes..." She got a desperate edge to her voice.

O'Neill groaned softly and looked at the signs along the road. "Five minutes, Freya. There's a pull-up in a few miles."

"Do they have a bathroom? I need to go to, and I don't want to pee behind a bush!" Daniel said.

"Why the _hell_ not? That's what we _all_ do when we're on missions!" O'Neill said, sounding irritated. "You never complained before!"

"What if there's an angry animal? Or an ant-hill? I could be _eaten_ without any of you knowing it!" Daniel sounded worried.

"I did not know the world of the Tau'ri was so dangerous! Are we safe in _here_?" Martouf asked. He looked out of the window with concern, and checked that the door was indeed locked.

" _Yes_! You're safe!" O'Neill exclaimed. "Daniel is being, ah, overly paranoid." He turned off the road. "Never mind. I can see there's bathrooms here, so you don't need to worry. Nothing's gonna eat you!"

"O'Neill, there is a hot-dog sales-man. Perhaps we should take this opportunity to obtain some sustenance," Teal'c said, inclining his head in the direction of the small shop.

"Hot-dogs! _Yay_!" Sam shouted. " _Great_ idea!"

"With _lots_ of ketchup!" Daniel added.

"I need to pee _now_!" Freya said, sounding desperate.


	21. Chapter 21

After a short break, everyone felt better. The children had only needed slight prodding before they returned to watching their DVD's, so they were being unusually complacent. O'Neill was taking a nap, while Teal'c was driving.

They drove on for several hours, as the Sun slowly set.

"Teal'c...are we there yet?" Martouf asked.

"No, obviously not, as I am still driving."

"I mean, are we at O'Neill's cabin _soon_?" Martouf clarified.

"I do not believe 'soon' would be correct either. The latest sign I saw indicated there are at least 500 miles left to drive, before we reach our destination."

"500 _miles_!" Sam exclaimed. "It's dark outside! It's evening - and I'm hungry!"

"I'm hungry too!" Martouf said. "And I need to use the facilities."

"Me too...both. And I'm _tired_!" Anise whined.

"I shall attempt to find a pull-up with a food-vendor and latrines," Teal'c said.

"What about sleeping facilities as well?" Anise suggested. "If we have only travelled _half_ the dis-tance to the cabin, it would be better to continue tomorrow, would it not?"

"Yeah, there's nothing to do back here but sleep!" Sam complained. "And I'm not tired...much, anyway."

"Were you not watching your DVDs?" Teal'c wondered.

"Yes, but there is no more power on the player," Sam told him.

"That would not have happened if it was naquadah-powered." Lantash complained, having taken over control from Martouf. "In-ferior Tau'ri tech-nology!"

-  
"Wh...where are we?" O'Neill mumbled sleepily. He had awoken just as Teal'c parked the car.

"In Grand Island. A city in Nebraska," Teal'c informed him.

" _Grand Island_?" O'Neill sat up more straight and looked out the window. "Why are we here?"

"The children require sustenance and wishes to frequent the latrines," Teal'c told him. "I believe this establishment will provide opportunities for both."

"McDonald's?" O'Neill frowned. "Well, Janet's not here to tell us it's bad for us, though I must admit I'd have preferred a steak house." He shrugged. "Okay. Get out, kids!"

"Yay...because we're hungry _now_ , Colonel...oops, I mean _General_!" Sam giggled.

"Remember, host's in control, or use host's voice...and I _mean_ it!" O'Neill said, as they all hurried out of the car.

-  
"What do you want?" O'Neill asked the children.

Sam looked thoughtfully at the options. "A double cheeseburger."

O'Neill grinned. "I don't think you can eat that much in your, ah, current condition, Carter. Do you want a Happy Meal with a cheeseburger?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Yes - and a diet coke. Can I have ice cream for dessert?"

"Maybe, if you're still hungry when you've eaten the other stuff."

"One Happy Meal." Daniel said. "No cheese...and coke."

"No cheese and no coke?" O'Neill asked.

"No. No cheese, and I want coke...please." Daniel clarified. "Oh, and ice cream."

"We'll order desserts later, if you want any. That goes for all of you." O'Neill said, looking at Freya and Martouf.

"I would like to have...uh...a Happy Meal with chicken nug-gets," Martouf said. "And _coke_. Lantash would like a cheeseburger...and a milkshake, please."

"I would also like a Happy Meal," Freya said. "Anise wants those chicken nug-gets. We want Sprite and Dr. Pepper."

"Mixed?" O'Neill shook his head. "Listen, Martouf - and Freya. I'm sure you can't eat that much food. Decide on something, and then we'll see if you want more when you've eaten it. Okay?"

"But I'm _hungry_ \- and so is Lantash!" Martouf looked stubborn, then nodded. "Okay. Happy Meal with chicken nug-gets, coke - and chocolate milkshake."

O'Neill sighed. "All right...Freya?"

She looked undecided for some time, before finally answering. "Chicken nug-gets with Sprite. Can we have some extra french fries?"

"I'll ask," O'Neill said, just happy the children had finally decided what they wanted.

"O'Neill. Please order a Big Mac with extra french fries for me. As beverage, I would like Dr. Pepper," Teal'c said.

-  
"I need extra ket-chup," Sam said, getting up from the table.

"Get some for me, too?" Freya asked.

"And me?" Martouf added.

"I will go with you, Sam," Daniel said

They ran to get ketchup, and soon returned with much more than the children - and O'Neill and Teal'c - could possibly consume in one sitting. O'Neill just sighed and took a quick glance at the other tables. No one seemed to have noticed or to pay any attention to them.

"Thank you," Martouf said, immediately pouring a large amount of the ketchup out over the french fries.

"Yeach," O'Neill said. "I mean, I love ketchup as much as the next guy, but I prefer _fries_ with ketchup - not _ketchup_ with fries!"

Martouf happily started eating the french fries, clearly enjoying the ketchup-bath the food was now soaked in.

Daniel studied him for a moment, then copied him, pouring ketchup all over his food as well.

O'Neill sighed and got a long-suffering expression, but focused on eating his food. He was very happy Janet was not with them on this trip! She would _not_ have been pleased with the nutritional value of the food the children were eating!

-  
"I am _tired_!" Sam declared.

"I am too!" Martouf yawned mightily. "Lantash is almost asleep."

"Yes, can we _pleeeeeeease_ sleep in a bed somewhere?" Freya begged.

"I saw several hotels on the way here." Daniel helpfully informed O'Neill.

"You can sleep in the back-seat, and then, when you wake up you'll be at the cabin. Won't that be much nicer?" O'Neill argued. He opened the door. "Now...get in."

"I wanna sleep in a _bed_!" Daniel complained, but crawled into the car, lying down on the back-seat. He yawned mightily.

"Hey, _move_!" Sam pushed him. "There's no room for the rest of us!"

"I am cold - and tired!" Freya said, sniffling a little. She leaned against the side of the car, looking miserable.

"Listen, _you're_ not the ones who'll be driving for the next four hours!" O'Neill said. "Don't you think _I_ am tired?"

"O'Neill, perhaps the children's suggestion has merit. It might be advisable to find lodging for tonight," Teal'c said.

O'Neill sighed, but quickly surrendered. "Okay, since you're all ganging up on me...we'll find some place to stay for tonight. Now, _get into the car_!"

-  
They did not have to drive far before they found a place to stay that looked acceptable.

O'Neill hired two rooms, one for him and Teal'c, and one for the children. He had to admit the idea of sleeping in a bed for some hours was an attractive one. He had spent more than enough time in his life sleeping on the ground or going without sleep. This was a vacation, after all, so it made sense to allow yourself some luxuries and enjoy yourself a little.

-  
Next morning, after a quick breakfast, they were on their way again. They felt refreshed and ready to drive the rest of the way. The children's DVD player had been recharged during the night, so they were now completely concentrated on watching their DVDs, while Teal'c drove. He would drive the first four hours or so, while O'Neill would drive the last stretch, as he knew the way to his cabin best, of course.

The weather was nice, so when it was time to take a break, they bought sandwiches and juice, and ate the food in a picnic area in a small forest near the road.

They had already driven about half the remaining distance, and since they had gotten up relatively early, it was only shortly after noon. They were in no hurry, and the children were allowed to play for a couple hours at a small playground located beside the picnic area. They had been sitting still for a long time the day before, and were starting to feel restless, so this was a welcome opportunity to burn off some energy before they continued the journey.

-  
"Jack...are we there yet?" Daniel asked, for the second time in the last 30 minutes.

"No, and that was the last time you asked that on this trip - and the same goes for the rest of you!" O'Neill said, annoyed.

"When _will_ we be there, then?" Lantash wondered, sneakily.

O'Neill sighed deeply. "For the last time...there is about 100 miles left to drive."

"That's not the same as the last time we asked," Daniel said, reasonably. "So, how long will that take?"

"About 2 hours," O'Neill answered, curtly. His knee was bothering him. It always did on long car-trips, and that meant he was becoming less patient than usual.

"Because some of the roads are small and you can't drive very fast. Right?" Sam asked.

"Should we not also purchase supplies in the store, before going to your cabin, O'Neill?" Teal'c said.

"Yes, we will do that. In Silver Creek."

"Will it then not take longer than 2 hours before we arrive at your cabin, Jack?" Anise asked.

"Watch your DVDs, then we'll be there before you know it," O'Neill told them.

"How will watching DVDs change the time it takes us to go somewhere?" Sam wondered.

"I don't want to watch any more natural science." Daniel complained. "Can I have some DVDs with ancient history for next time? About the ci-vi-lizations of China, Egypt, and the Mayans?"

"They were all ruled by the Goa'uld," Lantash said. "Why do you want to know more about them?"

"I agree. Besides, the Tok'ra know more about them than any Tau'ri histo-rian ever can!" Anise pointed out.

O'Neill groaned softly and looked at the sign they just passed. Another 95 miles to go. _Great_ , just great!


	22. Chapter 22

It was early evening when they finally arrived at O'Neill's cabin. They had made a stop at the nearest supermarket, to buy supplies for the week, and after that they had eaten at a local Grill, which O'Neill liked.

"Can we go swim in the lake?" Daniel asked.

"Not tonight. You'll just be eaten by mosquitoes. Tomorrow, maybe. They tend to stay away during daytime. Mostly," O'Neill said. "If you want - and you're not too tired - I can teach you how to make twist bread over an open fire?"

"Yes! Do that!" Sam said, excitedly, and the other children mimicked her enthusiasm.

"I would be most interested in learning about this Tau'ri tradition as well," Teal'c told him.

"My uncle taught me when I was a kid. It's easy. You just mix flour, water, yeast, a little oil, and a little salt. Roll the bread into thin 'sausages' and wrap them around a wet stick, then bake it over a fire until it's done. The trick is to not keep it too close to the fire, and to wait until the fire is down to embers and small flames, or you'll burn the bread. Oh, and remember to turn the bread so it isn't black on one side and raw on the other!" O'Neill grinned. "Mine always ended up that way!"

"Sounds fun!" Martouf said.

"It is. Who wants to help me mix the dough?"

"Me," Daniel said, eagerly.

"Okay. The rest of you help Teal'c build a nice fire - and find a good solid stick for each of us. Not too thick and not too thin." O'Neill explained.

-  
"I don't think it's done yet," O'Neill told Daniel, when he checked on his bread for the fourth time in a few minutes. "And be careful - it's hot!"

Daniel nodded. "Knows." He shook his hand and blew on his fingers. "Very hot." He placed the bread back over the fire.

Lantash picked up a piece of wood, which was only burning at one end, and studied the small flames as they licked at the wood. "Very pretty." He observed.

"Whoa!" O'Neill carefully grabbed the piece of wood from him, placing it back in the fire. " _Careful_! Are you _trying_ to hurt yourself?"

"It wasn't hot at the end I was touching! I'm not stupid!" Lantash said, defensively.

"Maybe not, but please don't do it again. Okay?"

Lantash got a stubborn expression, but then gave in. "Yes. I will not do it again."

"You're burning your bread," Sam observed.

Lantash quickly lifted up the stick with his bread on. The bread was dark on one side and a little smoke came from it. He sighed unhappily and turned the bread, before carefully placing it at a larger height from the flames. "I think it is almost done."

"So is mine," Anise said, checking her bread. She frowned at the burnt parts on it.

Suddenly, they all jumped a little as they heard a drawn-out howling from some distance away. Shortly after answered by a similar howling from another direction.

"What _was_ that!" Anise asked, sounding afraid.

"Timber wolves," O'Neill said. "We've got some of them up here."

" _Wolves_!" Daniel exclaimed, terrified. "They'll eat us! Quick! Let's get inside!"

"Calm down! They've never bothered me here, and besides, wolves are afraid of fire. Humans are the _only_ lifeforms that aren't afraid of it, so you're quite safe from anything that's out there," O'Neill reassured them.

"That is _obviously_ not true!" Lantash said, " _I_ am not human, and I am _not_ afraid of fire...it was _you_ who told me to put down the burning stick!"

"So symbiotes are no more fearful of fire than humans!" Anise added, helpfully.

"Jaffa are also not afraid of fire," Teal'c said. "In fact, there are very few things Jaffa fear."

"Since your state-ment was clearly in-correct, sir, perhaps wolves aren't afraid of it either?" Sam wondered, nervously looking around for wolves about to jump her.

"I am going inside!" Daniel declared. "My bread is ready anyway."

-  
After a long nights sleep, and a large breakfast, the children felt ready to face the world again. It seemed much less dangerous now, when the Sun was shining warmly and the birds where singing.

"We can bathe in the lake, right?" Sam asked.

"Sure. Teal'c and me will be there with you - fishing. Won't we, Teal'c?" O'Neill looked hopefully at his friend.

"We will," Teal'c confirmed.

"I...am not sure I want to swim in this lake..." Lantash said.

"Why not? I thought you guys _loved_ water!" O'Neill said.

"We do...but I am afraid of the large _fish_ ," Lantash admitted.

"Large fish? Who said anything about large fish?" O'Neill frowned.

"You are going to fish...why would you do so if there were no large fish to catch?" Anise pointed out.

"Ah...well, no need to worry, then, kids. There _are_ no fish in the lake. None at all," O'Neill reassured them.

"No fish?" Daniel stared at him. "Why are you going to fish, then?"

"O'Neill told me once, it is not about the actual fish. The fish are not important in this context. It's about fish- _ing_ , the act of fishing itself." Teal'c explained.

"O-kay," Sam said, giving him a strange look.

"It is very deep. I do not expect you to understand," Teal'c said.

"Well, if there's no fish in the lake, then _I_ am going swimming!" Lantash declared, starting to pull off his clothing and dropping it on the ground beside him.

"Whoa! Wait, young man." O'Neill called after an already naked Lantash who was on his way to the waterfront. "You need to wear your bathing trunks. I know you have some - you all got swimwear for your birthday and we _did_ bring them."

"Why? You don't bathe with clothes on otherwise, and you didn't explain it very well when you gave me the 'bathing trunks'!" Lantash argued. "Stupid Tau'ri rules!"

"Perhaps, but you'll all wear your bathing clothes anyway!" O'Neill told him, pointing in the direction of the cabin.

Lantash grumbled something inaudible, but picked up his clothes and left in the direction of the hut. The other children followed.

-  
The children were swimming and playing in the lake, and having a great time. Meanwhile, Teal'c and O'Neill sat on the shore and relaxed. Suddenly, the sound of a cell phone could be heard.

Teal'c fished it out of his pocket, glancing briefly at it.

"You didn't?" O'Neill said, giving him an accusatory look.

"Ferretti implored me to bring it with me, in case there was an emergency on the base," Teal'c explained, picking up the call. "Teal'c," He said into the receiver. He listened for a short time. "He is here. I will 'put him on.'" He handed the phone to O'Neill, who sighed dramatically, but accepted the phone.

"Yeah, it's me." O'Neill frowned, "Do you need me to come back to the base?" He said, his expression becoming grim. "I see. No, we'll stay here, then, and not contact anyone until we know we're okay...let's hope they're the only ones affected...yeah, you too. Keep in touch." He hung up.

"An emergency at the base?" Teal'c said.

"Yes. Apparently Vaselov's got some kind of nasty disease. It doesn't appear as if it's come through the gate, and no one else has developed _all_ the symptoms, but others have done things and then forgotten about them, which _is_ one of the symptoms. Hailey is in the infirmary - she had an episode of _something_ \- she demanded the gate was opened, and then she just collapsed. Doesn't remember a thing about it. The base is quarantined until they know more about what it is."

"Could any of us have this affliction?"

"No idea. Possibly, though at least Martouf/Lantash and Freya/Anise should be safe." O'Neill shook his head. "No reason to worry about it. We'll keep an eye on each other and stay away from anyone else. There's no reason to mention anything to the kids, yet."

-  
Ferretti called O'Neill again later, to inform him that they had determined that it was not an outbreak of a disease they had on base, but that it was, in fact, Anubis. Since he was still partially ascended, he did not have a true material form. He was currently moving around the base, in a shape not unlike mist or a dark cloud - and in order to interact with the physical world, he needed a body. Hence he had possessed first Colonel Vaselov, and then a string of other people. The 'disease' had been a symptom of being inhabited by him in this form. Fortunately, it would seem Vaselov was the only one who had been exposed for long enough to become truly sick, but unfortunately, he seemed to be dying.

Ferretti explained that they did not currently know _who_ Anubis was in, but that they _did_ know he was still on the base.

The crisis was by no means over, but at least O'Neill knew there was not some sort of contagion that he could have brought out from the base. That was reassuring, at least.


	23. Chapter 23

Several days later, the crisis at Stargate Command had been resolved, and Anubis had been stranded on a cold, desolate planet - for the time being, at least. O'Neill, Teal'c, and the children could safely return to the base.

O'Neill spent the next several months trying to get used to being the commander of Stargate Command, instead of the one causing problems for the commander. Meanwhile, the children went back to school, still on the base. They remained living on the base for now, even though there were often talk about letting them move away from the base and live part-time with O'Neill and part-time with Janet/Rhiva.

Teal'c had finally been allowed to move off-base, and had gotten an apartment. The children insisted this was cause for a big celebration, and they wanted to make a cake and buy gifts for him. With a little help from Cassandra, they did a good job of both, and baked a cake that was not only edible, but actually tasted very good.

The party did not change the fact that they missed Teal'c, now when he was not living on the base, and they could no longer go and talk to him as often as before. Of course, he did still spend much time on the base, and he also promised the children they could soon come and visit him - and maybe have a Star Wars movie marathon!

-  
Teal'c had barely lived off base for more than a month, before he - while being completely innocent - became the main suspect in a murder investigation. After being cleared, he decided to move back to the base for the time being, deciding that the world of the Tau'ri was still too strange a place for him.

Shortly after Teal'c had moved back to the base, he went to visit Ishta, as he often did. She was the leader of a group of Free Jaffa, the Hak'tyl, and she had also become Teal'c's beloved. However, she - like many of the Free Jaffa - did not share Teal'c's wish for a slow rebellion against the System Lords, and she and her group wanted to kill the Goa'uld Moloc.

What was perhaps more personally stressing to Teal'c was that his son Rya'c had fallen in love, and wanted to marry a young woman from the Hak'tyl. Teal'c was extremely unhappy that Rya'c had not talked to him before deciding to marry - and so did not follow Jaffa tradition. More so, Teal'c was worried that the marriage would take Rya'c's attention away from the battle against the Goa'uld.

Then Ishta showed up at Stargate Command, in need of a place for her group to hide, as she feared they had been compromised. Out of options, O'Neill offered they could come to Stargate Command and stay there until a more suitably place could be found for them.

-  
"So we will be getting lots and lots of guests?" Anise asked, intrigued.

"Yes. Ishta and her people will come her and stay for several days, at least." O'Neill told them, looking somewhat stressed out at the thought of the pending 'invasion'.

"Ishta is Teal'c's girlfriend," Daniel explained, helpfully.

"We _know_! Do'h!" Martouf rolled his eyes.

"Will there be children coming too?" Sam wanted to know.

O'Neill nodded. "Yes, several." He frowned. "Listen, guys, I don't know how much they know about the Tok'ra. Ishta knows, of course, and so do her commanders, but I'd guess most of the rest of her people don't. To them, the Tok'ra are at best a myth, and at worst considered Goa'uld."

"We _are_ good at hiding!" Martouf said, proudly.

"Shouldn't all Free Jaffa know about the Tok'ra, though? They're still allied, more or less, aren't they?" Daniel pointed out.

"Yeah, well. _Should_..." O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Don't expect them to - and even if they do, they'll probably be more likely to think someone is a Goa'uld than a Tok'ra - and these people have had _really_ bad experiences with the Goa'uld."

"I don't think anyone has had _good_ expe-riences with the Goa'uld..." Martouf snorted. He bowed his head, giving Lantash control.

"So we're to remain hidden while these Jaffa are here?"

"Yes, that would probably be a good idea," O'Neill said. "Actually, it'd probably be best if _all_ of you...um...keep a little to yourself and not interfere in anything while these people are here. God knows the situation is gonna be volatile enough as it is!" He sighed.

-  
"Eating alone today, kids?" The lady at the counter in the mess hall asked, smiling at them.

"Yup. Jack, Teal'c, and Janet are _all_ too busy to join us." Daniel explained.

"I'm sure they wish they had the time. So, do you guys want any pie for dessert? We've got some nice pecan pie," She said.

"Pecan pie sounds good," Martouf said. "Yes, please."

"Oh, me, too...please!" Freya said.

"And me." Both Sam and Daniel added.

"Here you go, sweeties!" She put four plates with pie on their trays. "Can you handle those yourself, or do you need help carrying them?"

"We can handle it, thanks," Sam said, smiling at the nice lady.

They slowly, carefully, carried their trays with food and glasses of milk, to the table they usually sat at.

-  
They had almost finished their food when a small group of girls came into the mess hall. The children were perhaps 8 or 9, and they wore clothing that made it obvious they were probably not from Earth, and most likely belonged to Ishta's Jaffa. Appearing somewhat uncertain, they walked up to the counter, and to the lady at the cashier.

The oldest of the three girls held out a piece of paper to the lady at the cashier. "We need some flour, oil and salt, please. This is a signed permission from General O'Neill."

The lady took it. "50 pounds of flour, 1 gallon oil, and one small bag of salt..." She nodded. "Quite a lot, but I guess there's quite many of you." She smiled at the girls. "Don't worry, it's not a problem. I'll get someone to find it for you...but you can't carry all that yourself!"

"We have a small cart, but we did not know if we were allowed to bring it in here." One of the girls said.

"Well...if it's clean, then no problems."

"Clean?" The girls frowned.

"You know, no...ah...dirt on the wheels or such. It's not a good idea to get that into a place where people eat. They could get sick, you know."

"How can you avoid dirt on the wheels? We pull the cart _on_ dirt and grass at home!"

"I'll get someone to carry your stuff to it, then. No worries." She smiled reassuringly at them.

The girls nodded, then stepped a little out of the way, staying in the corner while they waited. Meanwhile, they looked around in the mess hall, and quickly spotted Sam and the other children.

"Hi..." The youngest of the Jaffa girls said, waving a little uncertainly at Sam and the others.

"Hello," Martouf answered, getting up. He made the traditional Tok'ra greeting - a little half-bow with his hands held together against his chest. "I am Martouf."

"And I'm Daniel," Daniel said.

"Sam." She pointed at herself.

"My name is Freya." Freya greeted them like Martouf just had.

The Jaffa girls giggled a little, and threw shy looks at Martouf and Daniel. It was obvious they were not used to boys - in fact, they had probably met very few, if any, during their childhood.

"Tek'ma'tek. I am Rhil'ka." The girl smiled. "These are my friends Simka and Ih'ren - Ih'ren is very shy."

Ih'ren blushed and sent Rhil'ka a look that clearly said she did not appreciate being singled out like that.

"Tek'ma'tek, Rhil'ka, Simka, and Ih'ren," Martouf and Freya both said - Sam and Daniel repeated it moments after.

"You are not Jaffa...are you?" Rhil'ka said.

"No, we're not." Daniel looked at the girls for a moment. "You are Jaffa, with Ishta's group?"

"We are Hak'tyl, yes," Simka said, clarifying.

"You have no...uh...marking on you forehead..." He touched his own forehead.

"No," Rhil'ka agreed. "Because we are _free_. We belong to no god!"

"That is good," Martouf said.

"Sam...and Freya...how is it to grow up together with boys?" Ih'ren suddenly dared ask, then looked away, giggling.

Freya and Sam looked at each other, not sure what to answer.

"Frustrating - sometimes," Freya finally said, thinking of how Daniel had pulled her hair and teased her earlier that day, when she had asked a stupid question.

"But usually we like it." Sam added, quickly.

"You are from this planet? The Tau'ri?" Simka asked. "And are you siblings?"

"Some of us are from this planet," Sam answered, cautiously. "And none of us are re-lated, well..." She suddenly remembered that Anise and Lantash were actually siblings, but she decided against saying anything.

"I was born on Setona." Martouf told them. "But a Goa'uld, Nephthys, came and conquered our world. It had been free for centuries. Nephthys is evil."

"All Goa'uld are evil." Rhil'ka observed.

Martouf nodded. "True, they are."

"It is good that we are free of them...did you know that Jaffa no longer need to carry at prim'ta?" Rhil'ka said, excitedly.

"Yes. You can use tretonin instead," Freya replied.

"Tretonin was made by Jaffa scientists so we could be free of the evil, false gods!" Simka said, proudly.

"That's not completely correct." Martouf frowned.

"It was actually o-riginally a drug created by the Pan-garans." Daniel said.

"They did medi-cal expe-riments on queen Egeria, and killed millions of her children to make the drug." Sam added, looking grim.

"The Tok'ra refined it, and the Pan-garans were saved. Tok'ra scientists then studied the drug and figured out how to change it so it could be used to free the Jaffa from their de-pendency of symbiotes." Freya explained, looking very sad at being reminded of Egeria's death.

Simka scoffed. "Do not believe all you hear - Jaffa made the tretonin. Saying anything else is just spreading evil rumours."

"Egeria _died_ because of these medi-cal expe-riments!" Martouf exclaimed. "And still the Tok'ra helped them - _and_ changed the tretonin so the Jaffa could be free!"

" _Tok'ra_!" Rhil'ka snorted. "They are probably not real, and _if_ they are, then they are no better than the Goa'uld. Who tell you these lies? _All_ symbiotes are evil. _If_ they really made the tretonin - which they did not - it would only be to make the Jaffa dependent on _them_ instead!"

Martouf's eyes flashed a strong golden-white as he let Lantash take control. "The Tok'ra are _very_ real! How _dare_ you speak such slander about my mother and my people! We no longer have a queen, and so may no longer have a future! That did not stop us from helping you - and _this_ is the thanks we get?"

Rhil'ka and the other Jaffa children gasped.

"You are Goa'uld!" Ih'ren exclaimed.

Lantash took a step closer to the shocked Jaffa girls. "We are _not_ Goa'uld!"

"It's true. They're not," Sam said.

"They're Tok'ra," Daniel added helpfully.

Suddenly, they heard a deep voice from behind them. "Did not O'Neill tell you to remain hidden when any of the Hak'tyl are present, Lantash?"

They all turned to see Teal'c standing over them.

"Teal'c!" Lantash said, still looking angry. "They are insulting me, my mother, and my whole people!" He pointed at the three Jaffa. He took a deep breath, calming himself somewhat. "Yes, he did. I...apologize."

Teal'c nodded. "What seems to be the problem?"

"They are Goa'uld!" Simka pointed at Lantash and the others.

"No," Teal'c said. "Lantash and Anise are Tok'ra. Daniel Jackson and Major Carter are humans, as are Martouf and Freya."

"My sister says Tok'ra and Goa'uld are the same." Rhil'ka's voice had a somewhat uncertain tone. "They also claim tretonin was not invented by Jaffa."

"Tretonin was, in fact, created by Tok'ra scientists. Their queen - Lantash and Anise's mother - was lost due to this drug." Teal'c pointed out. "Also, accusing someone of being a Goa'uld is a grave insult, particularly to a Tok'ra. You will apologize immediately."

Rhil'ka, Simka, and Ih'ren glared unhappily at Lantash and the others for a few moments - and they glared right back.

Finally, Rhil'ka nodded slowly. "I understand..." She took a deep breath. "I...apologize, Lantash...and Anise..."

"I apologize as well," Simka said, actually looking as if she meant it. "We did not mean to slander your mother or your people."

"Sorry." Ih'ren smiled hopefully - though still somewhat nervously - at Lantash.

"I forgive you," Lantash said, glancing towards Teal'c and still not looking completely happy.

"So do I." Anise added, having taken over control from Freya.

"Then you will not punish us for what we said? Please?" Simka said.

"Punish you?" Lantash sighed. "How would I do that?

"Even if you are not a Goa'uld, you have the same powers, do you not?" Rhil'ka asked.

"Yes...none!" Lantash exclaimed. "I though you did not believe Goa'uld are gods?"

"We do not..." Simka said, looking embarrassed. "It is just that you two are the first ones we have met."

"If you have resolved your misunderstandings, then perhaps we should transport these food items to those who need them." Teal'c observed. "Perhaps you can all assist each other in this task?"

Sam, Martouf/Lantash, Daniel, and Freya/Anise began helping Rhil'ka, Simka, and Ih'ren move the food stuffs to the small cart parked in the corridor outside the mess hall, and soon all the children were getting along well.

Teal'c mused that it may actually have been fortunate that this small incident had happened, since it seemed to have been resolved to everyones satisfaction.


	24. Chapter 24

Eventually, a new homeworld were found for the Hak'tyl and they moved away from the SGC after staying for about a week. By then, Sam, Daniel, Martouf/Lantash, and Freya/Anise were sorry to see the Jaffa children go, and the feeling was mutual. After Rhil'ka, Simka, Ih'ren, and the other Jaffa had accepted the Tok'ra, all the children had played together, and become good friends. Everyone would now be missing their new friends.

Hopefully, it would be possible for them to visit each other. In any case, it had been a very fortunate happenstance, since this was another step towards peace and hopefully future friendship between Jaffa, Tok'ra, and Tau'ri.

-  
The children spent most of the fall focused on their studies, and paid little attention to the several large crises and near catastrophes in their Galaxy.

The Trust - a coalition of rogue N.I.D. operatives - had gotten their hands on a sample of the symbiote poison developed by the Tok'ra. Where the Tok'ra would not use it, except as a last line of defence, until they had found a way to allow the Jaffa to survive, the Trust had no such inhibitions. They used the poison in an attack against P4S-161, killing countless Jaffa.

It was only due to the slowly strengthening ties between the Jaffa, Tok'ra, and Tau'ri, that it was possible to stop the Trust before they used the poison again. Everyone was terrified at the thought of what might have happened, had the alliances been broken completely after the attack on the alpha site earlier that year.

The Trust was clearly a dangerous enemy, and they even seemed to be stepping up their efforts now. They had tried to capture Teal'c, and then later Janet/Rhiva. Because of this, it was decided that it was safest for them to live on the base most of the time, until the threat was lower. For the same reason, all thoughts of letting the children move away from the base was abandoned for the time being.

-  
Christmas was approaching, and the children were excited. They had made long lists of gifts they would like to receive, to make sure everyone 'had enough to choose from' when picking out something for them.

They had also thought about finding gifts for Teal'c, O'Neill, Jacob/Selmak, Janet/Rhiva...and several others. Sam and Daniel both had accounts on Earth, from when they were adults, and they still had their credit cards and debit cards. True, people would probably react strangely if they tried to use them in a store, but they had agreed on a way to solve this; they would go to an ATM and withdraw the money they needed for presents, and then Teal'c and Cassandra would accompany them to the store, and perform the actual monetary transactions. Both had agreed to come, which was good, as the children wanted to buy each of them a gift, and that would otherwise have been hard to do secretly.

"Teal'c and Cassie will come pick us up soon!" Sam said. "Do we know what we want to give everyone?"

"Yes," Martouf said. "We gave O'Neill first season of 'the Simpson's' on DVD last year, so we are giving him season two now." He looked at the paper they had written down their list on. Using crayons, someone had drawn a big snowman on the paper, on top of the text, so it was a little hard to read what had been written. He wrinkled his brow. "We are giving Teal'c some candles for when he is meditating..."

"Oh, and we also have the clay candle holder we made yesterday! We just need to paint it!" Daniel suddenly remembered.

Martouf nodded, then continued reading aloud. "A scarf for Janet, because we...ah..." He glanced at Sam.

"Tipped over a cup of hot chocolate on it." Sam looked embarrassed. "Oops."

"For Rhiva...a box of dark chocolate truffels, because she likes them a lot, and when we last visited we kinda ate...uh... _some_ of her chocolate without asking." Martouf sighed.

"Most of it." Sam corrected.

"It was very good." Martouf defended himself. "Besides, it was Lantash's suggestion!" He winced.

"Lantash is yelling at you for that! Suits you!" Anise grinned.

He grumbled, then returned to the list. "Herb tea for Jacob, because he gave up coffee since Selmak doesn't like it. Do we even know if he likes this tea? I seem to remember...okay, _Lantash_ seems to remember that Jacob wouldn't drink _any_ of the herb teas we have in the tunnels."

"We'll find one he likes," Sam said, confident.

"Okay." Martouf shrugged. "A warm hat for Selmak, because Jacob won't let her grow back his hair...he says he looks 'distinguished'."

"Do we have any ideas for something for Cassie?" Daniel wondered.

"Yes, something pretty for her aqua-rium, right?" Sam said.

"Right." Martouf agreed, checking the list.

They continued going through their list, making sure they knew what to get for everyone, until Cassie suddenly stuck her head through the open door.

"Ready, kids?"

"Yes, we are." Martouf answered, confidently putting the gift-list in his pocket. The other children nodded.

"Okay. Where do you want to go?"

-  
"Did you see the _huge_ Christmas tree Jack brought?" Daniel asked, excited, as soon as he had entered the door to the quarters they all shared.

The other children sat on the floor, wrapping the last of the presents.

"No, how big is it?" Freya wanted to know. "Will it reach the roof, as he promised?"

"Well...I suppose that depends on which room they put it in..." Daniel looked thoughtful. "Not the roof of the gateroom, but I think they didn't want to put it there."

"Why not? We all suggested it! It would look _awesome_ together with the Stargate!" Sam said.

"I think someone thought it was too dangerous, in case someone should attack." He frowned. "Also - would look un-pro-fessional - if some dig-nita-ries visit, I guess."

"Oh...'dig-ni-taries'...yeah, we can't offend _those_." Lantash mocked. "So, where will they put it?"

"And will it reach the roof of that room?" Freya repeated.

"I think in the main recreation room." Daniel nodded. "Yeah, that's what Jack said...and I think it's _at least_ 12 feet!"

"Let's go see!" Sam suggested, getting up. "I've finished wrapping my part of the gifts, anyway."

"I think we all have." Lantash looked around on the floor, only seeing wrapped packages.

"Okay, let's go!" Freya argued, already on the way to the door.

"Do you think they will let us help decorate it?" Lantash wondered.

"I hope they will...I have the most _awesome_ idea!" Sam said, her eyes gleaming with happiness.

"What's that?" Daniel sounded interested.

"Blue jello! _All_ over the tree!"

-  
The children _were_ allowed to help decorate the tree, but Sam's idea was rejected, much to her chagrin.

It was now Christmas morning, and the children were waiting - impatiently - for O'Neill and the other adults to take them to the Christmas tree, where it had been decided the gifts would be exchanged.

"What time is it?" Sam asked, for probably the fifth time since they got up that morning.

"Almost eight, "Martouf said. "Why don't they come and get us?"

"We should have insisted on having the tree in here," Daniel insisted. "Then we wouldn't have to wait for the adults to get ready!"

"We would still want to wait for them - we have gifts for them, remember?" Freya said.

"They could get their gifts afterwards." Sam suggested, reasonably.

Freya clicked to - again - update the website 'NORAD Tracks Santa'. "Santa is in Asia right now - he must have already passed the USA _hours_ ago! Hmmm...NORAD...they are just a few floors up - we ought to ask to be shown around!"

"So what? You know it's just my Dad that's dressed up as Santa," Sam said.

That was when someone knocked on the door.

All the children turned their attention to it and chorused. "Come in!"

O'Neill stuck his head in, grinning. "Come on, kids! Santa is waiting for you in the rec room!"

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"


End file.
